A Drizzle of Honey
by onpointedance
Summary: Edie is the youngest heir of the Hale mixed martial arts empire, but when she moves to Japan for her last year of high school, she meets the wacky cast of the host club. Honey is immediately taken with her, but Edie has eyes for a certain someone else. Will Honey be able to win her over?
1. Chapter 1

A Drizzle of Honey

Author's note:

I know the title is trite and sort of lame, but this is my first fanfiction, so forgive me... It may change. Anyways I don't know if this is necessary, but everyone else on here does it so might as well...I don't own Ouran and I never will. Anyway's I hope you enjoy and if you happen to read this, I would love reviews an critiques, I'm new to writing and am looking to learn. Sorry for the long intro, but here it is.

Honey had just stepped into the waiting area of the arrival gate in the airport and he was in a dangerously bad mood. Of course, Honey _had_ known that today was the day he needed to pick up the foreign exchange student, but he had still been napping with Usa-Chan when his butler, Mr. Tanaka, had attempted to rouse him. Honey gave Mr. Tanaka a death glare and threw the only weapon he could find, his stuffed bunny, at Mr. Tanaka's head. The butler, however, was still spry for a sixty-year-old and just managed to dodge the furry assailant. This left Honey with no choice, but to rise and reluctantly get ready to greet the American visitor. To make matters worse, Takashi, the one person who was able to calm Honey's after nap grumps, was away defending his kendo championship title all weekend,

Honey covered a yawn and rubbed his eyes with his fists, but regretted it when three teenage girls cooed, "Kawaii!" in unison. Normally Honey loved capturing girls' attention with his cute antics, but a tired Honey was not a normal Honey. Glancing at his watch, he wondered if there was time to send Tanaka to pick up some cake before the incoming travelers started pouring through the double glass doors. After all, even airport cake was better than no cake at all. Just as he was about to ask his butler to go hunt for some, the doors parted. Mr. Tanaka was, of course, much taller than Honey so he was the one holding the sign with the girl's name on it, Edith Hale. The name was so, well just so, ancient sounding. Honey imagined Edith was going to be a humorless, tall, stick of a girl with a horse-like face and a snooty outlook, but maybe that was his post-nap frustration talking.

He scuffed the toe of his black dress shoes against the white squeaky linoleum impatiently. No matter how horrendous the girl was Honey knew he still had to make her happy. The Hale family was famous in the world of Mixed Martial Arts. Each member was a master of countless forms of fighting, and the family owned and operated thousands of gyms all across the United States, specializing in everything from Capoeira to Karate. The Haninozuka family would be a fool to turn-down the opportunity to make an alliance with Hales, so when the Hales requested the Haninozuka's take in the youngest Hale while she studied abroad, Honey's family jumped at the opportunity. However, if Honey failed to impress Edith, they could kiss that opportunity goodbye.

"E…Excuse me. Are you the Haninozuka heir," a soft voice said in flawless Japanese.

Honey looked up into a pair of shy, but startlingly piercing ice-blue eyes. But, that wasn't the only startling thing about the girl. She was smaller than Honey, not by much, but the occurrence was so infrequent, that Honey had to keep himself from staring at the top of her long inky hair. The girl's thin dark brows furrowed in confusion and pink rosebud lips pouted under a perky button nose. She was cute, cuter than Usa-chan, heck she was even cuter than Honey. Several more moments of silence passed as Honey assessed the pink baby-doll dress that modestly covered her trim frame and the lime green, hard-top suitcase, littered with heart stickers. The girl backed away slowly and chirped politely, if not a little hesitantly, "I'm sorry, I must have the wrong person. Good day."

Mr. Tanaka had hoped to let the young master handle the first encounter on his own, but saw that he needed to intervene. He gently nudged the boy out of his astonishment before the girl could finish her retreat. Honey clamped his jaw shut, realizing it must have been ajar the entire time he was looking over her countenance. After clearing his throat he began, "I'm sorry, I am the Haninozuka heir, but everyone calls me Honey."

He inwardly kicked himself for being so star-struck. Honey mentally prepared himself for the girl to mock him for his stupidity, but was surprised once again when she rushed forward, all excitement and bubbles. She grasped his hand in both of hers and pumped it with a force and enthusiasm that no person her size should have.

"You are? I'm so glad! My name is Edith Hale, but everyone calls _me_ Edie," she tittered. She suddenly released his hand, only to back away far enough to drop into an abrupt and deep bow. Popping back upright, she tilted her head to one side, smiled, and finished, "It's nice to meet you."

 _BU-BUMP!_ Honey's heart thumped erratically in his chest and his cheeks turned a vibrant pink. This was dangerous. He was acting just like Tama-chan when he first found out that Haru-chan was a girl. He would need to go full host mode to get through this. He mustered a boyish grin and tried to summon those daisies that his guests at the host club swore appeared around his head whenever he spoke. "Edie-chan!" he cried and threw his arms around her in greeting.

Edie returned the hug enthusiastically, "We're going to be best friends!"

This caused Honey's heart to beat even harder. Maybe it was because Edie was his same size, but hugging Edie felt a lot more intimate than when he hugged Haru-chan. Mr. Tanaka chuckled lightly at the exchange, enjoying how shaken his young master was, but the sound attracted Edie's attention and she broke off the embrace.

"I'm sorry, I was so excited about my first friend in Japan that I forgot to make your acquaintance. I'm Edie Hale," she said to the butler.

He smiled down at the cutest face he'd seen since Honey's birth. "My name is Yoshi Tanaka and I am the Haninozuka family butler. I will be serving you during your stay, Miss Hale."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Tanaka, but please, call me Edie."

Tanaka shook his head, "It would be most inappropriate for me to use your first name in the presence of others, but I will do so when we are alone, Miss Hale."

The impish girl pouted as she pondered the arrangement, but then smiled good-naturedly as she responded, "Alright."

By the time this exchange had finished, Honey's heart had returned to its usual tempo. He grabbed her suitcase handle and said, "Edie-chan, we'll take you home now, okay? Then you can meet Usa-chan and we can eat cake."

Edie positively beamed, "Okay!"

The trio walked together to the black town car, with Mr. Tanaka lugging Edie's suitcase, despite Honey's protests, insisting that the suitcase would look cuter being carried by him than by a butler. The pint-sized duo sat together in the back of the car in silence. Edie was wondering who Usa-chan could be and Honey was trying to figure out how he was going to survive her stay if every word Edie said sent his heart into spasms. Tanaka pulled the car out of the airport and smiled in satisfaction. Edie was the only person besides Takashi who had ever pulled Honey out of his post-nap fury. The young master was finally in love, though Tanaka doubted the youth knew it yet. Honey was seventeen, nearly a man, but he still loved to play the little boy. Tanaka wondered what the little Master would do when he realized how love could make you a man.


	2. Chapter 2

A Drizzle of Honey Chapter 2

Author's Note:

Welcome back! I've decided to update this story at least twice a week, but maybe more often, if I feel like it. I'd like to thank my first reviewer. Carley-Carley-Carley you rock-rock-rock. As always I look forward to your critiques. MOLD ME LIKE CLAY! Oh and I also don't own Ouran Host Club.

Edie slammed the heel of her hand against the center of Honey's forehead, causing his brain to rock in his skull, leaving the boy dazed and slightly concussed. Using his momentary confusion to her advantage, Edie crawled behind Honey and crooked her arm around his throat squeezing the carotid artery until he passed out from a lack of oxygen reaching his brain.

Edie smiled to herself. Of course she didn't _really_ do any of those things. She was still riding in the back of the car with Honey, swinging her legs and riding in silence. It was merely a thought exercise she liked to entertain. What would she do if she were attacked right then and there? Being the smallest member of a mixed martial arts empire, she learned that it was not size that won a fight; it was strategy. So, whenever she had the luxury of silence, she ran mental simulations of how she would ward off any attack.

The practice had made Edie a master of strategy, able to out-think even the most seasoned of fighters. Her cutesy persona she adopted was another form of strategic defense. From a very young age, Edie learned that her small size and large eyes made people underestimate her. At first she was annoyed by the stereotype, but then she saw the inherent opportunity that being underestimated afforded. She upped the ante and dressed and behaved like a naïve little girl. It disarmed the people she met, allowing her to assess their threat level and have the upper hand if they tested her. She might be the smallest Hale, but she was just as dangerous as any of her four older brothers.

Edie looked at Honey and caught him sneaking a peek at her. She waved her fingers at him, but he bashfully looked down at his lap, unable to meet her gaze. Honey seemed to behave a lot like Edie, but she wasn't sure if he was really that cute or if it was all a calculated act like hers. It wasn't that Edie wasn't cute and girly, she just wasn't one-dimensionally so. She loved every frill and sweet. She adored stuffed animals and even occasionally enjoyed the baby talk, but she also was obsessed with mixed martial arts and insects. Playing up her more feminine side just gave her the advantage in and out of the ring.

The car finally slowed to a stop and Edie's jaw dropped. She had never seen a home this large or this beautiful. Although the Haninozuka family and the Hale family were equal in worth, the Hales had decided to forgo the mansion in order to live modestly in a five-bedroom, four-bath house. All their wealth went to their gyms and traveling with the family. For this reason, Edie was entirely unprepared for the expansive traditional Japanese mansion sprawling before her. There were several buildings on the land surrounding the large central manor that served as the main house where the Haninozukas lived.

Edie was up and out of the car before Tanaka even had the chance to open her door. Tanaka instead opened Honey's door and Honey bounced to stand beside the giddy foreigner.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

Edie whipped her head towards Honey, causing a few strands of her jet-black hair to swing across her cheek. "It's so pretty, Honey-senpai. Can I explore, pleeeeaaaase?" Edie begged.

She was rather excited to see the in-house dojo her father had told her about. Maybe Honey would teach her the signature style of Haninozuka martial arts.

Honey nearly choked on his own saliva. It was the first time Edie had ever used his name, causing his heart to perform rapid palpitations. Honey managed to reply, "We can explore this whole place together, but first Usa-chan and cake."

It was then that Honey took a calm step forward, just as a tan, human-shaped blur whizzed right through the space that Honey had just occupied. Tanaka shook his head as if he had seen this all before, and Honey's bright smile didn't budge an inch. Edie on the other hand was floored, "Did a boy just try to sneak attack you with a flying knee?" she squeaked.

The assailant picked himself off of the ground, wiping dust off of his black karate uniform and pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. The boy then started shooting rapid fire punches at Honey's head which Honey dodged with ease, not even bothering to remove his hands from the pockets of his dress slacks. Edie was impressed and began to think that she oversimplified her incapacitation techniques for Honey in the car. In between the attacker's swift jabs Honey explained, "This is Chika-chan, my baby brother."

"Don't call me that," Yasuchika grunted with effort as he spun a roundhouse kick at his older brother's head.

Honey seized the foot just before it struck his face with one hand and palm-struck Yasuchicka's ribs with the other. Yasuchika clutched his side and fell to the ground wheezing. Finally, Edie was able to get a good look at the younger male. He was taller than Honey and his hair was brown rather than blonde, but the resemblance was unmistakable. Yasuchika's glasses were comically askew after the squabble, but his face bore such a serious expression, that Edie could not bring herself to laugh. The younger brother was glaring up at Honey, not even noticing Edie's presence.

Honey leaned forward and balanced on his heels as he sang, "Chika-chan! Did you miss me?"

Yasuchika gritted his teeth and pushed himself into a wobbly upright position, "I'm going to defeat you one day Mitskuni, and when I do, everyone will see how ridiculous it is to have a fool for an heir with cake for brains."

Honey's face fell while his brother turned on his heel and stalked towards the manor, but Tanaka could not allow the younger boy to leave without greeting their guest. "Excuse me sir, but our foreign exchange student has arrived and is waiting to make your acquaintance."

After witnessing how disrespectful the boy was to his older brother, Edie wasn't all that sure she wanted to meet him at all, but she sucked it up turned to face Yasuchika. Yasuchika regarded her for the very first time and his primary impression was not at all favorable. He disdained the heinous pink dress and distrusted the wide blue eyes peeping from her round face. She looked as frivolous as his brother's stuffed rabbit and he suspected that she would end up being just another lovely item to distract his brother from his responsibility as heir. Even so, he bowed from the waist as duty commanded. "Forgive me for not attending to you sooner, I am Yasuchika Haninozuka, Mitskuni's younger brother."

Edie returned the bow and plastered on her most adorable expression to cover her desire to smack the kid upside the head. "That's right," she began sweetly, "Honey-senpai called you Chika-chan. I am Edie Hale."

Yasuchika grimaced at the childish nickname, but the girl's last name prevented him from correcting her. "If you will excuse me, I need to return to my training. I'm sure Mitskuni and Tanaka will show you around the estate," he said stiffly.

He turned once more and disappeared into one of the many side buildings. Edie marveled at how two siblings could be so different in essentials. She peeked at Honey's face and found a frown there with a trembling bottom lip. The effect made him look like a whipped puppy and fueled her desire to slam Chika to the mat until he apologized. Instead she reached out with both hands and grasped the corner Honey's sport coat. "Are you okay Honey-senpai?"

Honey gave her a half-hearted smile that never quite met his caramel eyes. "Yeah, Edie-chan. We fight all the time. Haninozukas challenge each other to battles every time we meet to hone our skills."

The Hales had a similar policy, but none of the skirmishes ended as bitterly as the one she had just witnessed. Edie wondered how to clear the depressing gloom gathering around her host's head when an idea struck. "Honey-senpai, we should have sweets together to cement our friendship. I believe you mentioned cake."

Just like that flowers seemed to bloom behind her friend's head and sunspots rocketed off of his corn-yellow hair.

"Okay!" he bubbled and pirouetted from joy, but then paused pensively, "Okay, but I'm going to invite Usa-chan too so he can be your friend as well."

Edie giggled and allowed herself to be dragged towards the main structure, leaving Tanaka to carry her bags to the accessory building where she would be staying. Honey and Edie weaved through corridors until he stopped abruptly before a set of double doors. Honey gave Edie a mischievous wink before sliding open both doors with panache. The bright light emitted from the room momentarily stunned Edie, but after her eyes adjusted she saw what must be Nirvana. Piles of cakes, pies, and pastries crowded the table in the center of the traditional Japanese room. Honey had already bounced past the threshold, so Edie hurried to join him. Pulling out a powder blue chair with a gallant flourish, Honey invited, "You sit here, okay Edie-chan?"

She nodded fervently and flounced into the seat. Her feet couldn't even reach the floor from her perch, but then, neither could Honey's when he sat on those chairs. Honey then scurried to the other side of the room, causing Edie to lose sight of him behind the mountain of desserts. When he reemerged, he held a pink furry thing behind his back. Edie cocked her head curiously.

"This iiiiiiiiiis… Usa-chan!" Honey proclaimed grandly, whipping an adorable pink, stuffed bunny out from behind his back.

Edie squeaked once with joy, but forced her face to form the silliest serious expression she could muster. She grasped one of Usa-chan's front paws delicately with her fore finger and thumb and nodded her head in a formal greeting. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir."

Unable to bear the silliness of it all, the two broke into a fit of giggles. Edie snatched Usa-chan to her chest and snuggled the bunny under her chin.

"Oh, Honey-senpai, he's so cute. Thank you, thank you, thank you for introducing us," she cheered, rocking the stuffed animal.

"Let's have some cake, alright?" Honey offered to cover up his blush.

She bobbed her head, enthusiastically accepting the lemon square that Honey handed her. He then selected a slice of chocolate cake with Italian meringue buttercream frosting before taking the seat to her right. Edie carefully sat Usa-chan in the chair to her left and both teens partook of the sweets with gusto.

Typically girls at the host club would eat one small slice of cake and then watch as Honey finished whatever was left on the table, but looking up from the final bite of his third sweet he saw that Edie had three empty plates before her and was about to start her fourth, a sumptuous chocolate mousse with raspberries dotting the top. Whether Edie knew it or not, from that moment on, this became an eating competition to Honey and the prize would be the strawberry shortcake in the center of the table.

As it turned out, Edie did know that she was now eating for victory. She could sense the competitive energy emanating from Honey's body almost instantly. The Hales didn't earn their empire by losing and she was not about to start now. The duo picked up their speed, polishing off four more plates each until only the prize strawberry shortcake remained, the red fruit on top glistening invitingly. They met eyes and gave each other a playful wink in unison before reaching for the final plate together. Honey closed his fingers triumphantly but was surprised to find he had caught nothing, but air. He looked at Edie, puzzled to spot her smiling archly at him with a plate of strawberry heaven sitting before her.

Not only was Edie cuter than Honey, but she was faster than him too? It just wasn't fair.

Before Honey's face could fall into a full puppy-dog pout she slid the treat towards him. "We'll share."

It took all of Honey's strength to hold back his tears of gratitude. Strawberries were his favorite after all. He sank his fork into the pillowy layers of cream and cake. Edie had only one bite before she laid down her utensil. She wanted to poke into Honey's relationship with Chika and figured that cake could soften the blow.

"If you want, you could share the rest with Usa-chan, or maybe you want to invite Chika-chan to eat it with you?" she inquired hesitantly.

"Chika-chan doesn't like cake. He thinks it weakens a fighter's discipline and makes them fat and slow," Honey said softly. The way he said it made it sound like Chika didn't like him.

Once again Edie wanted to kick Chika for being so mean, but all she could do now was perk up her newest friend. She'd deal with Chika later. She grabbed Usa-chan off his chair and placed him on her lap. Then, Edie played with the floppy ears as she said, "You know, you're the very first person I've met who's just like me. My whole family is tall and tough, " Edie could also be tough when she needed to, but she left that part out. "When I first saw you at the airport I was happy that we could have so much in common. I know we just met, but I'd be really sad if you stopped eating desserts or loving Usa-chan. That makes up a part of who you are. The senpai I met today is way too precious to change who he is just to be what everyone else expects of him."

Edie refused to look at Honey during her speech, but now that she said her piece, she peeked up at him from underneath her long, dark mass of lashes. Honey had his mouth ajar and a face as red as the strawberry dangling from the end of his fork. A bit of cream clung stubbornly to his bottom lip. Edie had to giggle at the embarrassed boy as she passed him a lace handkerchief to wipe away the cream. Honey accepted the piece of cloth and hurried to wipe his mouth. For the first time since meeting Edie, he wanted Takashi to be there with them. He wanted to ask him if he also saw the dazzling corona of light shining behind the pixie-sized girl.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Author's Note:

Hi everyone, this is a long one, but at the end you finally get to see the club, so tuck in. Just to let you know I have borrowed the names of my four favorite MMA fighters for Edie's brothers. The eldest is named for Tyron Woodly, welter weight, followed by Anthony Pettis, light-weight; Demetrius Johnson, fly weight; and Conor McGregor, flyweight. I borrowed their first names, not their personalities! Any likenesses are purely coincidental as this is a work of fiction.

If I use any MMA terms, I will put an asterisk by the word and you can look at the end of the chapter for definitions. Finally, I'd like to thank another reviewer. Concerns were expressed that having two loli characters could cause a sugar overload, which I totally get. I intend to play up the fact that both Honey and Edie are blood-type AB, and have Edie play it a little more butch when she is alone or in her head. If it ever does get too sweat or savory, let me know. This is why I love Fanfiction. As always I love and appreciate your critiques!

Enjoy.

The next day, Edie stood in front of the Haninozuka mansion, yawning and waiting for Honey and Tanaka to pull around the car. Her family had called to check in late last night.

"Hello?" she had groggily answered.

She looked at the clock, her eyes bleary from sleep. Two o'clock in the morning.

"Edie-baby? How are you darling?" cooed her mother, she was the only one who used that nickname for Edie.

"Hand me the phone Leslie. Edie, it's your father. I love you and miss you. Did you train today?" Michael Hale barked into the phone.

"Who cares? GIMME! Edie, pleeeeease tell me you went to a maid café. I need details...oof don't shove!" Edie sighed at the youngest and most perverted of her brothers, Conor.

There were more sounds of scuffling until Edie heard, "Stop poisoning my Edie with filth!" It was her second oldest brother, Anthony; he liked to pretend to be her white knight and protector.

"Give me the phone!" Edie's oldest brother, Tyron, commanded, "Have you seen the dojo yet? I hear it is the only place to learn Haninozuka style fighting."

More scuffling rang through the cellphone's speakers, interrupted only by outcries of _OOFS_ and _GRRRRRS_ and _BOYS NO ARM-BARS* OUTSIDE OF THE RING!_ Finally, Edie stepped in.

"FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, PUT IT ON SPEAKER PHONE," Edie shouted loud enough to wake the dead. She was actually glad that Haninozuka's decided to have her stay in her own guesthouse instead of the main building. She was lonely, and got a little scared in the dark, but at least no one could hear her outburst.

There were softer scrambling sounds on the other line while the Hale family searched for the speaker-phone button, but eventually Edie got to hear the voice she had most been waiting for.

"Hi Eeds," he said softly.

Edie smiled at the deep rumble of her second youngest brother, Demetrius, her very own gentle giant. He was the calmest and shyest of all the members in the Hale family, but his size of 6'6" made him a monster in the octagon*. His fighting nickname was the "Lethal Legend", but Edie always felt very protective of him. She loved all her brothers equally, but the other three could take care of themselves. Demetrius was softhearted and bashful and Edie always stayed close to him in case his social anxiety kicked in.

"Hi Demi, hi everyone. Gosh, I didn't think I'd miss you guys already." She then went to work answering everyone's questions, "I am doing fine, but I didn't have a lot of time today, so I only did my calisthenics before bed. Connor, I have no idea what a maid café, but since you want me to go, I don't think I will."

"Ahhh, come on," Connor whined before Tyron whomped him over the head.

Edie giggled then continued, "They didn't show me the dojo yet, though maybe I can see it tomorrow…."

She trailed off with a yawn that she covered with her hand. "Was that a yawn, goodness Edie, your travels didn't give you sleeping sickness? What time is it over there? Michael what time is it?" Edie's mother fretted.

Edie waited while the family did some mental math. Anthony reached the answer first, "It's two AM, mom."

Pandemonium burst out in the Hale house. It was hard for Edie to follow as all six of her family members tried to apologize and blame each other all at once.

"I didn't know…Gee, Edie I…Gosh, my bad…said we should have waited, but you just had to…Sleep deprivation, oh my baby…" They spoke over each other.

Edie began to laugh so hard that she gave off a loud snort that definitely didn't match her cute persona. Finally her father regained control of the room, "Edi, it is far past your bed time. Go to sleep right now. Your mother, brothers, and I love you, though I expect you to do extra exercises tomorrow to make up for today."

Edie lovingly rolled her eyes, every time her father spoke he sounded like an army drill sergeant. "I love you guys too," she began to hang up but remembered, "Connor, you have to start cutting weight tomorrow for your fight. I better not hear about you sneaking M&Ms up to your room. Demi, watch him like a hawk."

"Yeah, okay Eeds," Demi blushed his answer while Connor groaned in the background.

A click on the other end severed the connection between Edie and her family and brought the silence of the guesthouse crashing around her head. Edie snuggled her pillow to ward off the lonely ache that pierced her chest.

"Eeeeeeeeedie-chan!" Honey's cry pulled her back to the present, "Let's go."

She allowed him to tug her into the car. A short drive later, Edie found herself at the doorstep of the largest, pinkest building she had ever seen. This was Ouran High School and she absolutely, adored it. Edie smoothed her palms over the sunshine yellow poof of a dress and turned to Honey. "We're in the same class, right sempai?

"Of course! Taka-chan is gonna be there too. He's my best friend, so he'll play with you too, but he won't be in class until after lunch. He went away this weekend."

Edie imagined another little boy just like Honey and grinned, "I can't wait."

When they arrived at class, Honey went in first to talk to the teacher about her. Seconds later, the homeroom instructor pulled Edie into the room and forced her to introduce herself to the sea of foreign faces before her. This was something new kids never had to do in her old school. She was nervous, so of course, she botched it. "I-I'm Edie," the teacher beckoned for her to continue, "aaaaand… um I like puppies and ice cream… um… Look, I promise I'll be real nice so pretty please be my friend. Okay?" she finished, speeding through the last section as fast as she could.

The teacher slapped a palm to her forehead in exasperation, the girls cooed, and the boys blushed, though none quite so bright as Honey. There were only two open desks in the room, but the one right behind Honey belonged to the Morinozuka kid, so Edie took the chair all the way across the room from her friend. Three very nice boys sat around her, but Edie suspected the first half of the day would have gone by much faster if she could have sat next to her golden buddy.

 _BINGBONGBINGBONG,_ after hours of lessons that made Edie feel like her Japanese wasn't quite as good as she thought, the bell for lunch mercifully rang. Her three seat partners descended upon her, towering over her minuscule frame.

"Come with me, I can show you the way to the lunchroom," blushed boy one.

"No, let me buy you lunch. I know all the best stuff to eat," boy two interjected.

"We could all show her together," boy three suggested hopefully.

Edie was about to nod with hesitant agreement when Honey tugged on her skirt to get her attention. The three boys had failed to notice when the adorable weapon had squeezed past.

Honey raised his hand to reveal two colorfully wrapped lunch boxes. "Mr. Tanaka packed us lunch," his voice dropped to a conspiratorial stage whisper, "He even gave us extra cake."

He then, pulled Edie away from the ring of testosterone while she gave her seat-mates an apologetic smile. Honey glanced backward at the boys with an uncharacteristic and almost territorial glare. The trio felt a chill of fear and decided that maybe the new girl wasn't girlfriend material after all. Edie's female classmates were watching Honey, because every girl was always watching Honey, so they had viewed the exchange. When Edie first arrived, they were enchanted by her childish innocence, but watching Honey pull _her_ hand and feed _her_ lunch set of red flares. Edie might be trying to ensnare him and break the unspoken rule of Ouran High School. The Host Club was to be shared.

Honey chose a table near the middle of the brightly colored lunchroom. Edie's sharp ears caught whispers all around her, but shook them off, figuring that once her novelty wore off, people would stop. She unwrapped the bento and sure enough, rice, vegetables and two slices of spice cake were squeezed into the box. She spooned some of the rice between her lips before engaging her table partner. "Honey-sempai, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah!" Honey replied distractedly around the large bite of carrot cake, which was puffing out his cheeks.

"You're pretty cute."

"Really?" Honey stared up at her wide-eyed as a couple of crumbs tumbled off his nose.

"Yep…I mean no…I mean, I guess, how did the heir of the Haninozuka's come to act like such a cutie?" Edie giggled nervously, she hadn't meant it to come out that way. She merely wanted to know how much of his personality was genuine, or if he was just an act like her. She didn't know if he would be honest, but it was worth a shot.

Honey cocked his head," I could ask you the same."

"Yeah, but I'm the youngest in my family. I have four older brothers to carry on the legacy, but you're first-born, and a boy too. It is stinky, but people usually don't expect teenage boys to behave like you."

"I guess," Honey nodded solemnly, "Growing up, I pretended to be serious, but then I met Tama-chan and… TAKA-CHAN!"

Honey burst from his seat and rushed towards the entrance of the lunchroom. Edie pouted in disappointment, just when she was getting somewhere, but her eyes followed Honey's sprint until…

 _BU-BUMP!_ Edie watched Honey shimmy up the body of a mountain of a man. His hair was as dark as his inscrutable eyes and he was just slightly shorter than her brother, Demi. Edie had never seen anyone, so handsome. Her palms began to sweat and her mouth went dry. Honey was beckoning Edie with the wave of his hand from his perch on the man's shoulders, but Edie couldn't do it. She couldn't go talk to that Adonis. A tall guy like him would probably rather step on her than date her. She'd just make a fool of herself. Edie hatched a plan. She'd pretend she didn't see Honey. Yeah, that's it.

"EDIE-CHAN, EDIE-CHAN, COME OVER HERE, "Honey yelled across the room, pulling the attention of everyone there.

Dang that Honey! So much for pretending to be oblivious. Edie swallowed the knot that had formed in her throat and began the long walk over to the boys. Finally reaching her destination, she peeked upwards. For once, she was honesty grateful for her puny height. From this angle she couldn't see his face, just his stony sculpted jaw and the bottom of Honey's shoes. If she didn't see his face she could breathe, if she didn't see his face, then maybe she could form full sentences around him.

At first, Honey did all the talking. "This is my bestie Takashi-Morinozuka, but you should call him Mori-sempai. Takashi, this is Edie-chan. She can eat as much cake as me!"

"Hi" was the best Edie could manage. She wrung her hands behind her back and tapped the toe of her yellow flats on the floor. _Thank goodness he can't see my face, I might just get through this._

But, Mori had Honey for a best friend, so he knew how to talk to someone much smaller than himself. He dropped to one knee, bringing himself nose to nose with Edie.

"Yo."

It was all he said, just one syllable, but to Edie it was more beautiful than a sonnet. That calm bass, the emotionless stare, it was all too much for Edie. Honey watched Edie's face turn crimson from chin to hairline, as stars of adoration twinkled in her doe-eyed pupils. Honey liked to act young, but he wasn't naïve. Dread pooled in his soul. _Did Edie…she couldn't possibly…Edie wasn't attracted to Takashi, right?_

Edie didn't know what to do, what to say, so she muddled through with, "W-Wow. Honey told me t-tons about you."

In typical wild-type fashion, Mori said nothing, just stood after patting Edie on the head. From up high, Honey could see it all. Edie liked Taka-chan. At the very least, she was interested in him. For the very first time, Honey felt jealousy for his best friend. For the very first time since joining the host club, Honey wanted to stop acting like a kid, to be more like Takashi, but what could he do? He wasn't tall like Takashi, and he couldn't live without cake or Usa-chan. Even so, Honey wanted to be the person Edie looked at like that. Being a member of the host club had always taught him that all he needed to attract girls was to be himself, indulge every childish impulse.

That was it! "Edie-chan, you should come to our club after school. Taka-chan and I have to get there early, but if you ask the girls in class, they can show you to the music room," Honey exclaimed.

If Edie could just see how popular he was at the host club, Edie would have to look at him like she looked at Takashi.

"Music room? Are you in a band?" Edie wondered, able to think better know that she could no longer see Mori's face.

"Wait and see," was Honey's cryptic reply.

Four hours of mind numbing class later and Edie was begging her classmates for directions. The boys pled the fifth because they didn't want to lose the newest heartthrob to the charms of the infamous Host Club. The girls, who saw the way that Honey looked at Edie and Edie looked at Mori, were afraid the foreigner would steal the hearts of their precious hosts. Edie was forced to leave the classroom with out a guide. She'd always been lucky, so maybe she could find the music room on her own.

Ten minutes into her journey through the maze cleverly disguised as a school and Edie knew her luck had run out. Edie started to run, her skirt flouncing around her with each step. She didn't even know how long the club met for, what if she missed it? If she could just find her way… Edie turned a corner at record-breaking speeds, but was stopped in her tracks when she knocked face first into a boy, or maybe it was a girl? The kid was wearing the boy's uniform, but as Edie fell-she'd instinctively grasped onto the only thing she could, the stranger's chest. Judging by the two soft mounds curved under Edie's palms, her collision buddy was definitely a girl. Edie removed her hands as if she had touched burning embers and scrambled to her feet.

"I'm so sorry, I should have looked where I was going, I didn't hurt you did I?" Edie worried.

"Not really," the cross-dressing girl accepted the hand Edie offered to stand up.

"Gee I'm glad. Phew!" Edie comically wiped imaginary sweat from her brow causing the girl to laugh. Edie was going to ask, why the girl chose to wear the boy's uniform, but didn't want to offend her, so she stayed silent.

"Where were you heading to, in such a hurry?"

"Oh, right! I'm supposed to meet my new friend at the music room, but I got really, really lost," Edie said, rubbing the back of her head.

The stranger's chocolate eyes widened, "Small world. I was on my way there just now. I can show you if you want. My name's Haruhi Fujioka, by the way."

"Really?" Haruhi nodded, "You are just the best, best, best! Haru-chan, you're so pretty, but it turns out you're just as nice as you are beautiful."

"I don't know about that, but...wait, Haru-chan?" Haruhi drew back slightly at the nickname.

"Sorry, was I rude? I just feel like we are already friends. I'm Edie. I just moved here from America," she apologized.

"It's fine, it's just you remind me of someone, and I know who you are. People have been talking about you all day," Haruhi said as she led the way.

"They do that a lot here," Edie observed and Haruhi nodded sagely.

The pair came to a stop in front of two large double doors. "Well sempai, here we are."

Edie wrinkled her nose at the title, "I'm too short to have anyone calling me sempai. I'm practically pocket-sized"

Haruhi laughed, "Can I call you Edie then?"

"Uh-huh!" Edie chirped, then lowered her voice, "Ne, Haru-chan, what kind of club is this?"

"You don't know?"

Edie shook her head and puckered her lips, "My friend wouldn't tell."

"This will be a bit of a shock then," Haruhi said as she flung open both doors.

A wave of humidity smacked Edie in the face, causing her to hide behind Haruhi. Exotic birdcalls sounded in her ears and fruity scents flooded her button nose. Still, everything dulled in comparison to the overwhelming sight before her. Six beautiful and partially nude boys were surrounded by a tropical jungle paradise. Haruhi seemed just as surprised as Edie.

"Welcome." The boys said in unsettling unison. All but one was topless, but everyone's baggy pants and leis had a distinct tribal feel.

Two red-haired boys, twins, stepped out of formation and just like that, the spell was broken, "Oh, Haruhi, it's just you. We thought you were a guest. You're so late," they said at the exact same time.

At that Edie stepped out from behind Haruhi to search for Honey and an explanation. She was rubbing her eyes trying to make sure this all wasn't a mirage, but to the outside observer she looked more like a sleepy kitten. "Honey-sempai," she called in disbelief.

"You made it. Look Takashi", Honey exclaimed. Edie singled them out and gave a hesitant smile. She was torn between marveling at Mori's physique and making sure this wasn't some hormone-fueled twisted daydream.

A tall blonde with striking violet eyes rose from his seat in the center of the room. He was the only one with his torso covered, but the white and gold wrap he wore made him look like an Amazonian king, so he was just as dazzling. "What do we have here? It seems a little princess did grace us with her presence," the little remark irked Edie slightly, was that really all anyone saw in her? The boy continued, "I am Tamaki Suoh, The King of this Ho…"

Tamaki trailed off as one of the large orange butterflies fluttering around the room came to rest on the tip of Edie's nose. She had to cross her gumdrop eyes to see it properly and pucker her lips in concentration, so as not to frighten it away. To her knowledge it was a Marpesia berania, a species native to the Amazon rainforest and famous for drinking turtle tears to supply sodium to their diet. The butterfly probably landed on her to see if it could find any salty moisture on her face.

Tamaki grasped his chest dramatically, "Trust nature to recognize true beauty. This butterfly has indeed found the loveliest flower in the room"

He then rushed towards her, arms outspread, but was held back by the two red-headed twins from before, "Cool it boss," they chastised in unison.

The butterfly, startled from the commotion, resumed its flight around the room. Honey ran towards her, while Mori followed behind at a much slower pace.

"You're so lucky, I've been hunting butterflies all day, but none of them like me," Honey said sourly.

"That's odd, you'd think they'd love you because you're so sweet," Edie sang, clearing away the bitter mist surrounding Honey's head.

Haruhi took it upon herself to make introductions, "Guys this is Edie Hale from the U.S. Edie this is the _Host Club."_

Edie thought she heard a little dread dripping from those last two words, but decided to analyze that later. She didn't even know what a Host Club was yet.

A boy with raven hair and wire-rimmed glasses spoke up, "Edith Hale, age sixteen and fifth child of the Hale Mixed Martial Arts conglomerate. Arrived in Tokyo yesterday and will be living at Honey-sempai's guest house while she finishes school here at Ouran."

While Edie found Tamaki mildly annoying, he was nowhere near as bad as this imperious jerk who presumed to know everything about her. Edie batted her lashes and made sure her voice was dripping with, what else, honey, "Wow, you know _all_ that? You must be a super-duper genius." _Or a super-duper stalker._

He cleared his throat to mask his flattered expression. Haruhi jumped in, "That's Kyoya Ootori, he has a file on everyone. The twins are Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachin and I guess you know Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai. The crying dude in the corner is Tamaki-sempai."

Crying dude sobered himself enough to yell, "Haruhi, do not call people 'dude'."

Everyone in the room, including Haruhi decided to ignore his outburst, causing yet another bout of cartoonish tears.

"Ne, Edie-chan, how do you know Haru-chan?" Honey wondered.

Edie pressed an index finger to her chin and looked up towards Haruhi, "Well, I guess she's kind of my savior," Edie shrugged.

Just like that everything in the room went dead still. There were one, two, three beats of silence until, "SHE!" the Host Club yelled in unison.

*Arm-bar: The arm bar is a joint lock submission used in wrestling and MMA. The aggressor, places their legs across the chest of opponent and holds one of the opponent's arms between his/hers thighs. The elbow joint lands at about the aggressor's hips. The aggressor then grabs the opponent's arm and leans back while arching his/her hips. This pushes pressure on the elbow joint and could result in torn ligaments and tendons in the elbow joint. In extreme cases, arms have been broken, but as the discomfort of the arm bar is so great, most tap out before the required leverage is reached.

*Octagon: This is the area where MMA fights are held. As the name suggests, it is an eight-sided chain link cage with a mat covered raised floor. Fun-fact this style of fighting ring was first used in 1993 (the same year I was born!) and is used to this day.


	4. Chapter 4

A Drizzle of Honey Chapter 4

Author's note:

Just wanted to thank all those who have read and reviewed my story so far. I know I say this every time I post, but I am incredibly grateful for every critique you guys write, both positive and negative. Okay, I don't own Ouran, but I think you know that already.

"Ne, Edie-chan, how do you know Haru-chan?" Honey wondered.

Edie pressed an index finger to her chin and looked up towards Haruhi, "Well, I guess she's kind of my savior, "Edie shrugged.

Just like that, everything in the room when dead still. There were one, two, three beats of silence until, "SHE?!" the Host Club yelled in unison.

Edie pretended to be afraid of the sudden outcry, reaching out to Haruhi as a human shield. Edie made her bottom lip tremble while she gazed up at Haruhi and asked, "Did I say something bad Haru-chan? I'm sorry."

Haruhi thought she spotted a scheming glint in Edie's eye instead of fear, but still tucked the girl into her side with a protective pat on the Edie's ebony locks. Tamaki rushed forward to comfort his tiny princess, "No, no, nothing bad at all. It's just that Haruhi is definitely a boy."

The twins nodded in fervent agreement, taking turns to poke and prod Haruhi, "One hundred percent male," they agreed, "Chocked full of man."

Haruhi batted them away with irritation, "Cut it out guys. Edie already knows that I'm a girl, so leave me alone," she grumbled.

"Oh Haruhi, how could you let your secret spill?" Tamaki wailed.

"Sempai, you're being obnoxious again," Haruhi reprimanded, sending Tamaki spiraling to his corner of despair.

Kyoya straightened his glasses, "While Tamaki was being a tad ridiculous; his question is still valid. How _did_ Miss Hale learn of your gender?"

Haruhi was blushing too hard to speak, but Edie shared none of her bashfulness and didn't particularly like the threatening undertone of Kyoya's question. Edie wanted to shock him.

"Hey, it wasn't Haru-chan's fault! I was running and fell, but Haru-chan's chest caught me. I didn't mean to, but I felt her boobies," Edie sobbed crocodile tears.

Edie was disappointed her unladylike vocabulary failed to even make Kyoya blush. On the other hand, it had made Tamaki and the twins fantasize. In the theater of the boys' minds a possessive Edie was embracing a bashful Haruhi, the smaller lover's long onyx tresses wrapping around the couple, forming a lusty cocoon.

"Not my precious daughter!" Tamaki cried and shoved Edie violently away from Haruhi.

Edie teetered and fell backwards, luckily into the open arms of Honey. "Are you okay Edie-chan?" Honey fretted.

Edie was still floored from Tamaki calling Haruhi his daughter; maybe it was a Japanese thing? She didn't even register Honey's inquiry. With each beat of Edie's silence, flames of fury burned up Honey. He gently passed Edie to Mori, who lifted Edie into his bare chest. Honey spun abruptly to face Tamaki. Honey's ominous aura was powerful enough to make Tamaki release Haruhi, who he had been rocking while sobbing about purity lost forever.

"H-Honey-sempai?" Tamaki stuttered, hands up in surrender.

Honey landed a jumping kick into Tamaki's chest. Tamaki flew backward and crashed into a palm tree, shattering the bark and causing a coconut to drop and land on his foot.

Business being done, Honey turned back to Edie and smiled so bright that pink flowers danced around his golden hair. Edie had never been one for boys fighting for her, but she appreciated the thought and _really_ appreciated the force that Honey could put behind his kick. She cleared her throat and managed to tell Mori to put her down.

No sooner than Edie's toes tapped the floor, Honey cuddled her into a toasty bear hug. Edie's cheeks warmed slightly during the embrace, but she was sure that it was a delayed reaction from being so close to Mori's naked chest.

Kyoya paid no mind to his classmate writhing in pain and stalked towards Edie, a purple haze oozing behind him as he went. "Miss Hale," his tone was pleasant enough, yet iciness chilled his demeanor, "I'm sure you have begun to suspect that Haruhi's gender is being concealed for the time being. Should you carelessly expose her secret, Haruhi will be unable to pay back the considerable debt she owes the Host Club. I hope you can keep her secret as her friend, although I have though of _other_ ways for Haruhi to pay back her debt."

Haruhi shivered at the veiled threat and Honey gave Edie a protective squeeze, which she quickly shrugged out of. Edie squared her shoulders and faced down the shadow-king like the brave little solder her father trained her to be.

"I don't know what a host club is, but I do know that black-mailing people is a no-no! I'll keep Haruhi's secret if she wants me to, but you can't keep scaring her!" she said, stamping her yellow flats.

Edie was the picture of a spoiled princess throwing a fit because she had no alternatives. Kyoya smiled archly, "I assure you Miss Hale, the Host Club isn't in the business of scaring girls. On the contrary the Host Club was put together to entertain the beautiful young maidens of Ouran High School."

Tamaki sensed a chance to make a grand speech, so he sprung back to life and struck a grand pose. "Yes, the Ouran Host Club, where the school's handsomest young boys with too much time on their hands…"

Edie tuned out the rest because Honey was pulling her towards a golden table, laden with vibrant sweets.

"So you and Mori-sempai really joined a club to flirt with girls all day?" Edie asked in disappointment.

"No, no, that's not why we're in the Host Club. The Host Club was just the place where I first learned it was okay to be me," Honey hastily corrected.

"What do you mean?"

"When I first started high school I acted serious all the time. I never ate sweets and no one even knew about Usa-chan," Edie spied the pink rabbit in one of the seats around the table, "but then I met Tama-chan and he told me that if I joined the club and acted like the real me, people would like it."

Edie looked around the room to see the twins and Tamaki badgering Haruhi to wear her costume, Kyoya typing away on a laptop, and Mori keeping a watchful eye over Honey. Honey continued, "It sounds weird, but the Host Club taught me how to be me."

Edie began to ponder this as she took a seat and accepted the coconut pudding Honey handed her. She was about to respond when Kyoya looked up from his clacking keys and commanded, "Places!"

Honey winked mischievously at Edie, "Wait here," he said and scurried off towards the other hosts. Apparently Haruhi had won the battle because she was still in her boy's uniform. The hosts settled into the same positions Edie had just walked in on. The room went quiet and then the double doors opened.

"Welcome," sang the hostly chorus.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeek," an onslaught of enthusiastic estrogen poured into the room.

The girls took turns oohing and awing over the hosts and the décor until each host separated to different areas of the room. Edie watched with fascination as the gaggle of females parted into more manageable sub-sections. Tamaki had by far the largest following, but a sizeable hoard was trailing Honey and Mori over to the table where she sat. Among Honey's herd were three of the girls from her class who Edie had asked for directions. Obviously they had been lying when they told her they were too busy to show her the way. Edie felt a twinge of betrayal, but she'd be damned if she showed it to those girls. Instead she hopped down from her golden perch and skipped over to her classmates.

Ayako, Chizuko, and Kimiko were the three co-captains of the Honey fan club, The Honey Bees, and their stomachs dropped collectively when they saw Edie coming towards them. The trio was protective over Honey, but not necessarily evil masterminds. When they had lied to Edie in class, none of them even imagined that Edie could find her own way to the Host Club, yet there she was. What could they do if she told Honey about their lies? Ayako had a penchant for memorizing Honey-isms and she knew for a fact that Honey thought "liars are bad guys." Chizuko began to sweat as the foreigner drew closer and closer. At the same time Kimiko tried her best to look everywhere, but the fast approaching girl.

All three flinched slightly when Edie chirped, "Aya-chan, Chizu-chan, Kimi-chan, you're here too!"

"Y-Yeah Edie-san," stammered Ayako, tucking a short strand of her black bob over one ear.

"Hey Honey, these ladies gave me directions, but I'm a dummy so I got lost anyway," Edie knocked on her skull as if to prove it was hollow.

The trio froze. Kimiko, who was by far the dimmest of the three, began to contradict, "But, Edie-san we didn…"

Chizuko clamped a hand over Kimiko's mouth, "Hah, hah! Edie-san you're not stupid. This school is big. We should have just shown you ourselves," Chizuko said woodenly.

Honey wasn't foolish and suspected there was underlying drama behind the forced friendly exchange. Even so, Edie seemed to want to take care of it, so Honey smiled his boyish host grin. "You ladies are so nice. Edie's gonna have some cake with us, okay?"

"Good idea Honey!" the trio cheered because the cutest boy in the Host Club _only_ had good ideas.

Honey climbed atop Mori's shoulders and allowed the giant to piggyback him to the table. The trio trailed behind with Edie. The co-presidents hissed under their breaths.

"What are you playing at?" Ayako whispered.

"Yeah, why did you lie?" Chizuko added.

Edie shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry I lied. I don't know why you didn't want me here and I don't care. I'm not mad at you. I just want us to be friends and you guys seem to like Honey-sempai a lot, so I lied."

Edie was, of course, still _very_ mad, but it was true that she wanted to make female friends in Japan. Whether or not those friends would be those three remained to be seen, but Edie thought it best not to antagonize anyone just yet.

The Honey Bees stared down at Edie in shock. Not only had she forgiven them, but the little button was actually apologizing as well. Guilt clawed in the pits of their stomachs. Kimiko was the first to break.

"No, we should be sorry. We _are_ sorry," she wept after she snatched Edie off the ground into a hug, rubbing her cheek against Edie's face.

"So, we can be friends?" Edie asked timidly.

Down went Ayako and Chizuko. They sped into the group hug. "So cute," they squealed," We'll be your friends forever."

Honey made Takashi turn around at the sound of Edie's delighted, twinkling laugh. She was incredible. Whatever tension the girls once held had vanished and Edie was being crushed in a loving embrace. But, Honey had already known that Edie was exceptional. Now it was his turn to make Edie see him. Honey tucked his cheek against Takashi's.

"You like her, don't you Mitskuni?" was Takashi's low rumble.

"Yeah, I really do," Honey mumbled.

Takashi nodded solemnly, "I'll help."

Honey squeezed Takashi's neck gently in appreciation. It was Host time.

Once the girl's took their seats, Honey gestured to his lei. "TADAH! I love these Balinese flowers. We had them flown in."

"Wow Honey, you're so cute," cooed the trio dutifully.

Mori approached, holding a pineapple. "Takashi!" Honey climbed up his friend so he could place another set of crimson flowers around Mori's neck, "Now we match!"

The trio applauded Honey and Edie choked slightly on her tea. The feminine flowers should have made Mori ridiculous, but instead the contrast between the fragile petals and his sculpted body made him impossibly more masculine.

Together the trio, Edie, and Honey chatted easily while Mori watched silently beside them. Honey and Edie were making quick work of the desserts before them.

"Wow Edie, who'd have thought there'd be someone who liked sweets as much as Honey?" Chizuko wondered.

Edie licked hazelnut brownie crumbs off her lips, but intentionally left the dot of cream that had miraculously landed on the tip of her nose. A messy kid was a cuter kid.

Honey saw the mess on Edie and squashed her cheeks with both hands to turn her face towards him. With the tip of his index finger he swabbed the cream off her nose and placed it in his mouth with a loud pop. "Yummy!" he exclaimed.

Edie colored with light embarrassment, but the trio awed and quickly smeared bits of cream on their own noses for Honey to clean off, which he did with gusto. Edie finally had to giggle at his silly actions and the girls' intense pleasure at them. Kimiko almost fainted when it was her turn. Mori then grabbed Honey and pulled him aside. The taller man passed something to Honey, that Edie couldn't quite see, but Honey soon bounded back to her side.

"Come here," Honey gestured for Edie to lean in closer.

She complied hesitantly and he produced a magenta Hibiscus flower which he slid behind her ear. His brown eyes twinkled before he withdrew and said, "Takashi just gave me this flower, but I knew it would look cuter on you. Doesn't Edie look pretty ladies?"

"You're so lucky Edie. You look adorable," Ayako said, slightly jealous, but still enchanted by Edie.

Edie pondered for a moment, then pulled the flower from her hair. "Thanks Honey, but I think Kimi-chan would look better with the flower. Her hair is such a pretty brown and she has all those cool curls."

Edie swept back the aforementioned curls and placed the flower in Kimiko's hair, then tapped the girl on the nose once for each syllable, "Beau-ti-ful."

Kimiko smiled, but looked hopefully towards Honey. She sought Honey's approval more than anything. He tilted his head sideways to study Kimiko. "You're right Edie-chan. Kimi-chan, you're so pretty." Honey gave two thumbs up.

The trio cheered and thanked their lucky stars that Edie had forgiven them. It had been a while since Honey had been this affectionate, but then, Edie and Honey played so well off each other. It was like getting two loli-types for the price of one.

At this point Edie and Honey had polished off most of the food. Although Edie wanted to spend a little more time absorbing Mori's strong and silent energy, she excused herself from the table to explore the man-made wilderness and watch the other hosts. She was used to people fawning over her childish behavior, but Ayako, Chizuko, and Kimiko seemed to be sexually attracted to Honey's babyish antics. It confused Edie. Watching their reactions made Edie wonder what the other hosts did to "entertain" guests.

Haruhi was humbly pouring tea and sharing stories about her family, while dropping subtle compliments for the girls. Where Haruhi was subtle, Tamaki was ostentatious. He was in full prince-mode, dipping his guests and talking about all the gallant undertakings he would do for them. It struck Edie that Tamaki behaved a lot like her brother Anthony. Both were chivalrous to a fault and slightly ridiculous.

Then, a particularly shrill outburst of girly screams drew Edie's attention to the twins. Hikaru, or was it Kaoru, was cupping his brother's chin and gazing lustfully into his eyes. The girls watching sighed about forbidden passionate love, but if Edie ever saw any of her brothers behaving that way, she would beat them over the head.

Kyoya was the only host without a following of estrogen to drool over him, so Edie decided to interrupt his rapid typing into the laptop. She flounced over to Kyoya's side, but said nothing, deciding to just observe him at close proximity. Kyoya didn't even bother to look up from his computer when he said, "Can I help you Miss Hale."

"Nope. You just seem to like observing everyone so much that I wanted to give it a try." She responded sweetly.

Kyoya deigned to look down with amusement to find her round eyes focusing up at him intently under a slightly crumpled brow. After a few seconds, Edie broke the stare and shrugged good-naturedly. "I don't think I see as much as you do," she said, plopping onto a chair directly across from him. Kyoya shut his laptop to see her better.

"So, Kyo-chan, why don't you have any guests? Aren't you lonely?" Edie tested.

"It isn't that I don't have guests. I just take on fewer than the others so that I can organize and manage the comings and goings of the club," he responded calmly.

Edie wanted to see what happened when his buttons were pushed so she got all wide-eyed with admiration. "Wow! Did you put together this entire Balinese jungle?"

Edie watched as Kyoya puffed ever so slightly with pride. "Yes. It was Tamaki's idea, but I admit that much of the execution was left to my hands."

"Gee Kyo-chan. You sure are cool. Everything looks so real."

"Naturally the Host Club prides itself on offering its guests authenticity. Everything from the plants to the animals to the costumes was shipped here from Bali."

 _Got him!_ "Hmmmm… that's strange. I could have sworn that the butterfly that landed on me earlier was Marpesia berania. That species is from Brazil, not Bali silly."

Kyoya clenched his fists and a light flashed dangerously on the lens of his glasses. He was furious when the insect broker had brought in the crate of those blasted orange butterflies, but Tamaki must have butterflies! _So that's what it looks like when a snowman loses his cool_. Edie crowed to herself.

"Yes, well there was a mix up at the butterfly pavilion and there was no time to remedy it. I apologize if my mistake shattered the illusion for you." Kyoya said.

"Ruined it? Not at all, the butterfly was my favorite part. You did really well today," Edie batted her eyelashes.

Kyoya eyed her more intently, but seemed to accept the compliment because his next words were better controlled. "May I say you are quite fascinating? You know so much about insect origins and from what I saw over there," he gestured to Honey's table, "you are quite adept at handling people."

Edie feigned innocence, "Handling? I was just making friends. I do like insects though. Oooh, can you add that to my file? Pretty please?"

Kyoya smirked as Edie got up to leave, "It would be my pleasure Miss Hale."

Edie returned to Honey's hosting area. For the next hour Honey presented a string of his fawning fans, one after another. It seemed an endless parade of adoration, each more ga-ga for Honey than the last. Most greeted Edie warmly, but others were decidedly wary. Edie had to admit that it was impressive just how many girls expressed undying love for Honey.

Even so, when Kyoya finally closed the doors on the last guest, Edie was relieved. How did the rest of them manage to entertain that many people every day after school? Edie offered to help, but Honey and Mori insisted on cleaning their section alone, telling her to go explore. A quick glance around the room revealed to Edie that once again, Tamaki was pouting. He was slurping ramen noodles off at a side table and bitter gloom hazed around his head. From what Edie could gather, one of Tamaki's guests had jumped ship and requested Haruhi. Haruhi attempted to make amends. "Sorry sempai, I didn't know she was a host-hopper."

The twins advanced upon Haruhi with a crafty sparkle in their eyes. "You know, the boss would cheer right up if you just called him Daddy," Hikaru suggested.

"I already have one father and I don't need another," Haruhi grumbled.

"What is that about? Do Japanese boys like being called 'Daddy' or something?" Edie wondered.

Hikaru and Kaoru had a telepathic conversation and decided that the foreigner already looked like a doll, so she might as well be their new toy. Hikaru grinned wolfishly, "That's right Edie-sempai. When Japanese girls like a guy friend and really respect him. They call him Daddy."

Edie pondered this. It was sort of strange, but who was she to question a foreign custom.

"I can't believe Tamaki-sempai is this upset just because I stole Miss Kasaguzaki," Haruhi said.

"Shut up!" Tamaki snapped, "It's time for you to go back to being a girl! How can you be so popular with the ladies when you yourself are one? Now listen to Daddy! Daddy wants his little girl to look like this again," Tamaki whined after whipping out a large portrait of Haruhi with long hair.

"Don't go blowing up my photos without asking!" Haruhi blustered.

Edie tiptoed towards the photo for closer inspection. "Haru-chan, you look really pretty with long hair."

"Yes my princess. That's it! Princess Edie, turn my daughter back into a girl please," Tamaki begged, his eyes watery with tears of gratitude.

"Look, before school started, some gum got stuck in my hair, so I cut it off. I didn't and still don't care if I look like a dude," Haruhi slumped in exasperation.

"Dude?! A lady should never refer to herself as dude. Mommy, Haruhi is using dirty words again!" Tamaki wailed while collapsing to a weepy mess on the floor.

"Who is Mommy?" Kaoru wondered.

"I suppose based on club position, that would be me," Kyoya admitted begrudgingly.

Edie giggled, drawing Honey and Mori back to the group, "Yeah Kyo-chan! You seem totally maternal," Edie praised in her most sincere voice.

Kyoya flashed his glasses at Edie again, but she chose to ignore his murderous aura. Haruhi finally took pity on Tamaki. "It will make it easier for me to repay my debt if I stay a boy. That's the only reason I'm like this, okay sempai?"

"Hate to interrupt, but do you have formal dance experience, Haruhi? You'll need it for the party," Kaoru interjected.

"Party?" Edie whispered to Honey.

"The Host Club is sponsoring a ball. I was going to invite you later," Honey whispered back.

"No, I don't. But the party doesn't have anything to do with my quota, right?" Haruhi sweated nervously.

Tamaki's brain sparked with an idea. "Nonsense, a gentleman must excel at formal dance. Haruhi, I order you to master the waltz in a week. If you fail to demonstrate it at the dance next week, I will expose to everyone that you are a girl!" Tamaki declared.

"Poor Haru-chan," Edie sympathized while Honey and Mori nodded in agreement.

"Speaking of the ball, it will be the perfect opportunity to unveil our newest host," Kyoya said.

All eyes darted to Kyoya. Closing his laptop and tucking it under one arm, Kyoya continued, "Miss Hale shall become our first openly female host. I've been looking for a way to gain revenue from the male student body, but it appears that Edie will be popular with the female clientele as well."

Edie stayed silent as the entire room erupted with exuberant agreement. Tamaki was sure that Edie's feminine air would rub off on Haruhi, the twins were ecstatic to have closer proximity to their newest bauble, and Haruhi was relieved there would finally be another voice of reason in the club. Honey simply wanted to spend as much time as possible with Edie, and Mori simply wanted whatever would make Honey happy. The rabble continued as Edie formed her own opinions on the subject.

"No," Edie finally said.

For the second time in one day, Edie Hale had managed to stun the rambunctious host club into silence. Kyoya stepped forward to stand toe-to-toe with Edie. "I'm sorry Miss Hale. What did you say?" Kyoya was unaccustomed to rejection from anyone, but his father.

"I said no," Edie chirped brightly, "I don't want to be a host. Having to perform everyday? Bleh."

Tamaki outstretched his arms and said, "No Edie, you would just have to be yourself at the Host Club. People like you for who you truly…"

Kyoya silenced Tamaki's heart-felt appeal. He didn't have any dirt on Edie yet, but that didn't mean that he couldn't intimidate her. Kyoya loomed over Edie's diminutive form, pushing the deadly purple haze around them both. "Perhaps you don't understand Miss Hale. I am the youngest son of the Ootori family. My father practically owns the Japanese medical field and commands his own private police force. Needless to say, but if you want to set up a chain of gyms here in Japan, you would do well not to upset my family."

Honey didn't like watching Edie get picked on, even if it was his friend doing the picking, so he began to step forward, only to be held back by Mori's hand on his shoulder. The air around Edie had changed from bubbles to acid. She didn't know how Kyoya had found out why her parents sent her to Japan, and she didn't care. Honey's parents were supposed to be the only ones who knew. Edie broke down into a fit of laughter. It wasn't her usual twinkling chatter, but throatier, edgier.

Edie wiped a tear from her eye. "Wait, teehee, you mean to tell me that if I don't become a host you'll tell your daddy on me?" Kyoya drew back slightly as Edie laughed even harder, "Oh Kyo-chan, you are too funny."

Edie suddenly sobered and spoke softly like a volcano about to erupt, "Between you and me, I'm pretty sure my daddy can crush yours any day of the week."

Edie smiled brightly as if her mask covering her lethal interior had never slipped. She jumped into the air and lightly tapped Kyoya's nose, "Boop!" she sang cheerfully.

She landed gracefully, and then breezed past a stunned and slightly terrified host club.

"I'll be waiting in the car Honey-sempai. It was super to meet you all. See you guys tomorrow okay?" Edie waved as the double doors shut behind her.

The first words belonged to the twins, spoken in unison on an exhale, "My hero."

Edie Hale had just "booped" the shadow king and she had survived.


	5. Chapter 5

A Drizzle of Honey Chapter 5

Author's note:

As always I love and appreciate every single one of my readers and reviewers. Thank you so much for your critiques and support. I have used some more MMA terms so the asterixed words have definitions at the end of the story. Enjoy!

That evening, Edie called Demi in a panic. "I mean crap, I spend one day in Japan and already piss off one of the most influential families in the country. What is my dysfunction?"

"Mmm," Demi grunted.

"Well thanks Demi, but I totally am dysfunctional. I may have totally blown Dad's chances to expand the business," Edie ran fretful fingers through her hair, still wet from the night's bath.

"Mmmm."

"I know Dad won't be mad at me. Though he really should be, Demi."

"Mmmm."

"I-I'm just angry at myself. I got mad and messed everything up. I don't know what to do."

"Mmmm."

"What?! No, no way. I cannot apologize to that jerk. You should have been there. You would've totally beaten him up," Edie shrieked.

"Mmmm."

"Okay fine, so you probably wouldn't, but Conor and Anthony so would have."

"Mmmm."

"Jeesh alright lay off already. I know you're right…I just don't want to admit it yet," Edie finished in a soft voice.

"I love you Eeds," Demi comforted.

Edie sighed, "I love you too Demi, even if you don't always tell me what I want to hear."

The last thing Edie heard before the finishing click on the other line was her brother's rumbling chuckle. She groaned and flopped onto the bed. Tomorrow is going to suck. Edie let sleep claim her so the sounds of isolation could fade into nothingness.

The next morning, Edie rose and strapped herself into some yoga pants and a sporty, zip-up jacket. Fifteen minutes later, she was well into her daily five mile run. Moving to Japan had caused her to miss a few days and she was glad to return to a structured routine.

Back in the United States, Edie ran the mountainous trails that surrounded her Coloradan home, but here the manor was large enough that she could run all five miles without even stepping foot off of the estate. They had a freaking river running in between the buildings. Despite the tropical atmosphere at the Host Club yesterday, it was still early spring. Edie shivered slightly as she sprinted over an ornate wooden bridge. Her breath fogged before her eyes, so she almost missed the collection of boys wearing black gis* and waiting in front of one of the larger buildings on the estate.

One of the six boys called out to her, "Hey! Hey you! This is private property. You can't just run here."

He was tall for a Japanese man, but his bucktooth and acne spotted skin made him less than desirable. Edie slowed her pace until she could jog in place in front of the boys.

"Sorry for the misunderstanding. My name is Edith Hale. You may or may not be aware, but I'm staying with the Haninozuka's for a year," Edie explained.

Bucky the tall chuckled to his friends, elbowing a few of those unfortunate enough to be standing within range. "You, a Hale? There's no way a pipsqueak such as yourself could be related to _the_ Tyron Hale."

The urge to roll her eyes fell upon Edie, but she suppressed. She got this all the time. Her oldest brother, Tyron was by far the most famous of all the Hale progeny. He currently held the belt for UFC heavyweight champion and had even won bronze in the last Olympics for judo. Weighing in at two hundred sixty-two pounds, Tyron was a bear. The only similarities that Edie and her sibling bore were their pitch-black hair and steely blue irises.

"Well, if you want me to prove it, we could always have a friendly bout," Edie offered.

Bucky looked hesitant, but not intimidated. "I don't fight little girls," he declared.

"Don't worry. I'm a little girl, but I can do pretty big things," Edie smiled sweetly.

"Pound for pound, I pack way more power than you. I'd hate to make you cry," Bucky began to warm to the idea.

"That's okay. I'm a really good sport, even if I lose," Edie hadn't lost a fight since she was thirteen, but she suspected it was still true.

"We're not supposed to go in the dojo until Yasuchika-sempai arrives!" a wispy kid in the back corner blurted out.

"Don't worry. Chika-chan is my buddy. I'll just tell him that I made you let me in. He won't get mad at little ol' me," Edie winked.

Apparently that appeased the worried Haninozuka disciples because five minutes later Bucky and Edie were taped and ready in the center of the training room.

It was an expansive space. Mirrors lined the walls and a mat covered the entire floor of the room. Edie knew there was also a springy subfloor that was standard in most fighting gyms, so she bounced a few times to test the give. Perfect.

"Are you ready?" Edie chirped.

It didn't matter if this was just practice. When Edie fought, she wanted to destroy her opponent. She wanted every battle to be so one-sided that there would be no doubt who was victorious. Bucky didn't know it yet but he was facing down the dragon.

"This is your last chance to back out. I really hate making pretty girls like you cry," Bucky taunted.

"I'm gonna be mad if you go easy on me," Edie warned.

"Don't worry, I don't fight unless I intend to give it my all."

Edie respected that. One of the five spectators, the wispy one, stepped forward. "Bow," he commanded.

Edie and Bucky dipped in mutual respect.

"FIGHT!" Wispy shouted, becoming the unofficial referee.

Edie and Bucky danced around each other. Then, Bucky started launching hefty kicks at Edie; trying to strike the body, sweep the leg. Edie dodged nimbly, eyes calculating, waiting for the essential moment to strike. There! Bucky threw a furious kick directly at Edie's chest. It was the kind of movement with lots of power, but very little control. Edie sidestepped to the left of the kick and used both hands to push upwards on the leg. This allowed her to use all of Bucky's momentum to throw him on the ground, flat on his back. Edie pounced like a spider monkey. She grabbed the color of Bucky's gi and pulled Bucky on top of her, catching his neck in the crook of her right arm. She squeezed hard. Bucky's legs flailed to try and free himself from the chokehold, so Edie pinned those with her own lower extremities. Using her lower body as leverage, Edie cranked Bucky's neck even harder. Finally, Bucky tapped out and Edie quickly released him.

"Edith Hale wins by ippon* with mae hadaka jime*," wispy referee declared.

Edie offered her hand to Bucky to assist him up, which he gladly accepted. He coughed away the discomfort in his trachea. When he'd finished, he bowed deeply to Edie in recognition and Edie returned the honor. When Bucky rose, he rubbed the back of his neck abashed, "Well, you certainly fight like a Hale."

Edie giggled, relieved that Bucky was a good sport. Edie paused when she heard someone clapping behind her. The six boys shrank slightly at the sight of Yasuchika Haninozuka applauding.

"Well fought Miss Hale."

Edie lit up and sped over to her least favorite Haninozuka son, "Chika-chan, did you see me win? Did you?" Edie bounced.

Yasuchika's disciples whispered to each other "Did she just call him Chika-chan to his face? Honey-sempai is the only one who gets away with that."

Yasuchika fired a burning glare their way, which shut them up. Edie remembered her promise, "Chika-chan, no. You shouldn't get mad at these guys. I made them let me into the dojo because I haven't been given a tour yet. They were super nice and I like them," Edie defended.

She reached up to ruffle Yasuchika's impeccably arranged hair, earning more whispers from the peanut gallery. Yasuchika cleared his throat in an attempt to smother the rage that was currently bubbling up his esophagus.

"I apologize for not showing you around sooner," he replied in a pinched manner.

"Silly Chika-chan. You're my little buddy. Buddies don't have to say sorry," Edie informed Yasuchika, who was six inches taller than her, "I gotta go get ready for school though, so I can't stay to play with you."

"What a tragedy," Yasuchika said drolly.

Edie gave a mock salute, "Whip these plebs into shape 'kay? Bye, bye guys."

The troupe wiggled their fingers good bye while Edie practically waltzed out of the building. She was just like Honey-sempai, an amalgam of lethal talent and plushy cuteness.

After prepping for the day, Edie walked her way over to Honey and Mr. Tanaka in considerably brighter spirits. She may have to eat crow with Kyoya today, but at least she got to win a fight and tease the oh-so-serious Yasuchika this morning.

The ride to school was silent, yet Honey kept sneaking peeks at Edie. There was something about her today, and extra glow, a twinkle. She looked as though she was about to burst into song at any minute. This was a standard effect of Edie's after-fight high, but Honey attributed it to the fact that Edie had seen him in action at the host club yesterday. He didn't think Edie loved him yet, he wasn't that naïve, but maybe she at least saw him as more of a man.

Mr. Tanaka pulled the car into the front drive of the school. Just like that, the light exploding from Edie was snuffed. Gloom settled around her head. It was so apparent that Honey even tried to waft it away with his hand. Edie looked at him in depressed confusion.

"Edie-chan, are you okay?" Honey asked tenderly.

He had witnessed Edie snap yesterday and decided he'd rather not have a serving of pint-sized wrath for breakfast, thank you.

"I have to go to your club today after school," Edie settled into a mopey pout.

"Do you really hate it so much?" Honey was crestfallen, "I know you told everyone that you'd see them today, but they'd understand if you never wanted to come back again."

The words nearly killed Honey. He loved Edie ( _wait did he really just think that?_ ) he really did, but how could she love him when she despised a big part of him. Somewhere along the line, the Host Club became a second family. What if Edie hated his family?

Edie waved her hand to dismiss Honey, "It isn't like that and anyway I do have to go. I just… am not that excited about it."

Honey took little comfort from her response. Even so, he mustered all his courage and slipped his hand into hers, "We'll go together."

It struck both of them how comfortable it was to hold hands with someone that was the same size as you. They had just about reached the classroom when a familiar presence loomed over them. Edie quickly snatched her hand out of Honey's.

"G-good morning Mori-sempai," Edie stammered.

The gentle giant reached down to ruffle Honey's hair in greeting and nod to Edie. Then, the awkward love triangle trotted into the classroom, where they remained until the end of the day.

As the clocks ticked by seconds, minutes, and hours, Edie's foreboding grew by increments. When the final bell tolled, knots of dread twisted and tugged Edie's innards. Even the Honey-Bees noticed. The trio had decided that Edie was an invaluable asset to the Host Club. Her presence made Honey cuter and more affectionate. Still, the dark atmosphere swirling around Edie made approaching the tiniest member of the third-year class intimidating. They decided to draw straws and Ayako lost.

"Hi E-Edie. We could take you with us to the Host Club today. That is if you want," Ayako stammered apprehensively.

"You guys are the best. Though, I have to go early with Honey today. We got serious business," Edie made a playful peace sign in front of her face to hide the shadows that never left her eyes.

Ayako breathed a sigh of relief and booked her hasty retreat back to Chizuko and Kimiko. Edie shoved her books back into the buttercup yellow bag. She was about to sling it over her shoulder when Mori lifted it out of her fingers.

"M-Mori-sempai, you don't have…" Edie began until Mori turned and walked out of the classroom without a word.

"Thanks sempai," Edie said softly.

Honey grabbed her by the shoulders and shuttled Edie out of the door. Once they were well into the hall, Honey grabbed Edie's hand again. She withdrew hers hastily, not wanting Mori to get the wrong idea. Honey looked at her puzzled and reclaimed her hand. She tried to remove it once more, but Honey only squeezed her hand harder, refusing to relinquish his treasure. Honey set his jaw stubbornly. Edie eyed him. _That was pretty aggressive for a loli-shota. What was with him today?_

"Tell me what's wrong Edie-chan. I can help. Takashi will help too," Honey offered.

Edie waited, but Honey was her best friend in Japan. If she couldn't confide in him, then who could she?

"I just, I have to apologize to Kyo-chan and I really, really don't want to," Edie sighed.

"That's it?" Honey laughed in relief, "I thought you hated everyone in the Host Club. What are you even apologizing for?"

"I told you this morning it wasn't like that," Edie pouted, not enjoying being laughed at when she already had to lower her pride.

"Come on, tell me please," Honey begged.

Mori was walking in front of the pair, but even he had to grin at Honey's cajoling tone, Edie didn't even have a chance.

"Okay, okay!" Edie chortled, "You saw yesterday. I was kind of mean to Kyo-chan and I should say sorry."

Kind of mean? To Honey she was a roaring lion laying claim to her territory. Kyoya had been out of line though. He thought about it while they turned left down a corridor.

"So, if you say sorry, does that mean you're gonna become a host?" Honey asked, hope in his heart.

"No way," Honey's face fell," No offense Honey, but I'm not cut out to be a host."

It was Honey's turn to pout, but luckily they reached the music room before he could really muster up a proper snit.

Mercifully, the welcoming committee had not been assembled yet. Edie was spared from another blinding pose as Kyoya and Tamaki were the only two in the room.

"My little princess!" Tamaki called when he caught sight of Edie.

The blonde bounded towards Edie. The only difference between him and a golden retriever was the tail. Edie found herself being swung off the ground by her armpits and spinning in dizzying circles. She giggled until the motion sickness kicked in. "Mori-sempai!" she begged for aid.

However it was Honey who rescued her. "Put Edie DOWN." Honey ordered, a dangerous glare flashing in his caramel irises.

Tamaki still had bruises from yesterday. He placed Edie back on the floor hastily to avoid another assault. She thanked Honey, but was confused. _Since when was the little cutie so forceful?_ For the second time today Honey had behaved much more manly than usual.

Kyoya stood and stalked towards Edie, "I am afraid you caught us during prep, Miss Hale. All non-hosts need to wait outside until we open."

Edie suppressed the urge to growl. Tamaki saved her. "Now Kyoya, you mustn't be petty. Edie is more than our average guest," he pointed out while attempting to massage Kyoya's shoulders.

Kyoya stepped out of Tamaki's rubbing fingers. "Be that as it may, she still insisted to remain a guest and therefore is not welcome during our prep time. This is your rule Tamaki," Kyoya said icily. "Should she agree to be a host she could stay, but until then…."

"You're right," Edie cut in, "I am just a guest, so I'll leave in just a minute. Kyo-chan, we need to talk."

"There's nothing you could say to Kyoya that I couldn't also hear," Tamaki interrupted, hoping to spare Edie from Kyoya's wrath.

Kyoya cut Tamaki a sharp look to warn him not to interfere. "Alright Miss Hale, follow me to the prep room."

Honey watched her leave and sent as much support as his love-struck heart could manage. Haruhi and the twins entered the clubroom just in time to see the door shut on Kyoya and Edie.

"What is that all about?" Kaoru wondered.

Tamaki crossed his arms, serious for once; "Edie has decided to take on Kyoya on her own."

"Sick! Clash of the titans right Haruhi?" Hikaru said.

Haruhi already thought that Kyoya was one of scariest people she'd ever met, but watching the altercation between him and Edie had made Haruhi terrified of Edie as well.

"Wait what are you two doing?" Haruhi asked the twins.

"Are you kidding me?" Kaoru said as he pressed his ear to the prep room door.

"We wouldn't miss this for the world." Hikaru added as he joined his brother.

Within the confines of the prep room Kyoya leaned his narrow hips against the marble countertop running along the wall. His long legs extended before him. Kyoya was the picture of relaxed elegance.

"So Miss Hale, what is it that you wish to discuss?" Kyoya began.

"About yesterday, I…I…" Edie started the apology, but was choking around the words.

She growled in frustration. Kyoya wasn't helping, "I'm very busy Miss Hale, if you have nothing to say then…"

"I'm sorry!" Edie practically spat.

As far as apologies go, it didn't seem very sincere, but Kyoya had no use for sincerity. He said nothing and waited until Edie could finish.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you in front of your friends yesterday. I don't like feeling cornered and I tend to lash out," Edie grumbled.

"Much like a small animal?" Kyoya offered.

Edie fired a venomous glare in his direction, but Kyoya raised his hands in surrender. He walked calmly over to the door and opened it suddenly. Hikaru, Kauro, and Tamaki all tumbled into the prep room, looking a shame-filled, rumpled pile of mess.

"Oh, you two were still in here. Amazing," Tamaki feigned unconvincingly.

"There is only one exit for this room, so you were well aware of where we were," Kyoya chastised.

Edie was blushing from head to toe. _Did they hear everything?_ Hikaru and Kaoru were trying their best to appear apologetic, but the smirks and smothered chuckling eroded their honesty.

"What are you going to do now?" Kyoya asked the huddled mass on the floor.

"Prep for the club," they mournfully responded.

"Good," Kyoya said as he closed the door once more. He turned back to Edie, "I apologize as well. I am unaccustomed to being rejected. In the heat of the moment I suppose things got out of hand."

Edie stood dumbfounded, "So you make me apologize when everyone can hear, but you get to say sorry in privacy? No fair."

"The privilege of the informed, Miss Hale," Kyoya returned to his spot at the counter.

"Fine, whatever. So are we cool now?"

"Are you willing to be a host now?" Kyoya asked.

"Nope."

Kyoya pondered this. "That is disappointing. Alright Miss Hale, for now we have a truce, but be aware that by the end of next week you will be working as a host."

Edie snorted, "You can try Kyo-chan. It isn't going to happen, but you can try."

Kyoya smiled knowingly, not even bothering to retort. He placed a hand on Edie's back and chauffeured her out of the prep room. Much to Edie's relief, the Host Club didn't have any fanciful themes today. She spent the greater part of the hosting hours at Honey's table enjoying tea and petit fours and laughing with Honey and his fans. They begged her to regale them with stories of life in the United States and she rewarded them with some of her more interesting anecdotes.

Kyoya kept vigilant watch over his flock, like every other day. Despite the fact that Tamaki was not happy about it, Haruhi was making excellent progress in her dance lessons with Kanako Kasaguzaki. The twins were up to their usual antics teasing their guests and caressing each other. Out of the whole bunch, Kyoya was most fascinated by Edie Hale. She behaved like a charming child. Every guest and the hosts doted on her with glee, but Kyoya knew better. Yesterday he had seen the fighter behind the friend. Edie was passion and fury, manipulation and enchantment. She may be playing the little girl, but Kyoya didn't mind. He respected the way she used her appearance to get what she needed. Now Kyoya had to get Edie to use her appearance to get what _he_ needed. He had the perfect plan.

*gis: This is the plural of gi, a martial arts uniform commonly used for karate, judo, and other easter asian forms of combat.

*ippon: This is the highest score a fighter can receive in judo. It is awarded when fights are won by submission

*mae hadaka jime: This is a front naked choke. Commonly referred to as the guillotine. In the story I sort of explained what it looks like, but if you google it, you can find some great pictures of how it should be executed.


	6. Chapter 6

A Drizzle of Honey Chapter 6

Author's note: Hello everyone, wanted to thank everyone once again for all your reviews, follows, and views. I'm so grateful for the instantaneous feed back. Fair warning, the words "nipples" and "breasts" are in this chapter. Now don't get too excited, nothing is being done to said parts of the female anatomy. Just wanted to let you know that if for whatever reason you don't like those words they are present. So there.

"Daddy?!" Edie shrieked, eyes darting wildly around the Host room.

"You called, darling daughter?" Tamaki said.

"Not you. I want those devilish-twins," she growled.

Hikaru and Kaoru shared a panicked look, "Crap!"

They darted behind a burgundy love seat and hissed like wet cats at Edie.

"I can see you!"

"Stay back she-witch," Hikaru yelled and laughed simultaneously.

She rolled up her sleeves in preparation. Kaoru smacked his brother behind the head for taunting the beast.

"We're sorry Edie! Calm down," Kaoru soothed.

"Calm down?" Edie's voice climbed a hysterical octave, "I called Honey Daddy! This is your fault."

She chased them around the room; speeding past passive Kyoya and panicked Tamaki. Hikaru assessed his surroundings and snatched sugar cubes off a nearby table. He threw them at Edie, but his raucous laughter hurt his aim. Finally, one of the sweet missiles landed in the center of her forehead. She released a furious battle cry and picked up the pace. Kaoru's eyes pled Hikaru not to make matters worse.

Honey and Mori walked into the music room just in time to see Edie hurl a throw pillow at Hikaru's head.

"It was just a joke Edie. We're sorry!" Kaoru begged.

Tamaki was screaming for his children to stop fighting and pleading "Mommy" to intercede. "Mommy" merely sipped tea from his porcelain cup. The twins raced past Honey and Mori with Edie fast upon their heels. Mori gave Honey a look that asked, _you know what this is about_?

Honey nodded, reddening at the memory. Last night, on the drive home, Honey invited Edie to eat dinner at the main house instead of the guesthouse. His parents wanted Edie to have her privacy, so Mr. Tanaka delivered her meals separately. Honey, however, worried that Edie was getting lonely. She had wrapped her arms around Honey's neck in gratitude. She thanked him jubilantly and called him "Daddy".

Honey froze, though now he sort of understood why Tama-chan liked the nickname. Edie knew at once that she'd made a terrible mistake. "Japanese girls don't call respected guy friends 'Daddy', do they?" she'd asked.

Honey shook his head no and Edie slumped back into her seat and glowered, "They will pay."

Mori silently asked Honey if he wanted him to stop Edie. Honey nodded once more. On the next lap around the room, Mori snatched her off the ground. Her feet still pumped the air as she struggled against Mori's vice grip.

She looked ridiculous, a toddler throwing a deadly tantrum. Hikaru and Kaoru cracked up, as did the rest of the Host Club. Even Kyoya managed a smirk. When Edie realized she was the butt of the Host Club's favorite joke, she slumped in defeat. Now that Edie was limp and passive, Mori lowered her to the ground.

The second her feet landed, Edie sprang back to life.

"Ha-HAH!" she cried then leapt up to capture Hikaru in a headlock.

She preceded to noogie him until he yelped, "Not my hair!"

She released the mischievous twin only to capture Kaoru and flick his forehead.

"Ouch!"

"There. Now we are even," Edie celebrated.

The twins guffawed and pinched Edie's cheeks, one on each side. They dodged Edie's resultant swats in unison.

"Such sibling camaraderie! Come Edie; give Daddy a hug. OOF!" Tamaki grunted.

Honey stood firmly on Tamaki's toe; grinding it while his said, "Don't worry Edie. I'll protect you from the big bad twins."

He grabbed her hand and ran. The twins, pleased with their villainous role, cackled and pursued the smallest people in the room. Edie and Honey were captured and tickled mercilessly until they broke free to be chased once more.

That day the guests of the Host Club walked in on the most beautiful game of tag, anyone had ever seen. Honey and Edie hid behind Mori's legs while the twins tried to capture them. It was a heart-warming sight despite the fact that the Host King was inexplicably in the corner cradling one foot and hopping up and down on the other.

The girls joined in, deciding to play a giant game of hide-and-seek in the rose garden on school grounds. Haruhi was made "it" and Kyoya graciously accepted donations to decide who would hide with each host.

As soon as Haruhi began her countdown, Edie snatched the Honey-Bees' hands and pulled them with her to sneak under a table in a white wooden gazebo. It'd been about a week since Edie first arrived in Japan. Despite rocky beginnings, Edie and the three leaders of Honey's fan club became quite close. Edie never really had many female friendships. Growing up in a MMA gym made sure of that, so she was grateful that the trio accepted and seemed to like her. Under the cover of the table, Edie and the girls giggled and hushed one another alternately.

"So Edie, are you excited about the Host Ball tomorrow?" Kimiko whispered.

"I don't think I'm going."

"What?" Chizuko started and clanged her cranium against the shelter, "Ow… You have to be there. We won't have as much fun with out you."

Ayako nodded in agreement, "This could be your chance to dance with Mori and confess your feelings."

Edie had revealed her crush to the trio two days ago when they caught her trying to give Mori a can of soda. Mori had, of course, refused so Edie ended up giving it to Honey, but Ayako badgered Edie about the incident until Edie caved.

"You guys are crazy," Edie lovingly nudged Chizuko, "Mori and I have barely said three words to each other. I'm too awkward and he's, well he's Mori."

Kimiko lunged for Edie's shoulders to pull them face-to-face. It was a daunting feat as Chizuko was squished between them both.

"This is true love we're talking about," Kimiko said louder than any hiding person should be, "Be courageous and fate will be on your side."

"Shh… I never should have made you watch the Princess Bride," Edie pressed a finger to the lips of her passionate friend, "Anyway, it's more complicated than that. I don't know how to dance."

The trio gasped like Edie had just admitted to occasionally eating small children.

"But Edie, you _are_ from an affluent family," Ayako checked carefully.

"Yes, but we don't do balls in America. At least, the Hale family doesn't. I never even went to prom."

"It's alright, the girl just has to follow the boy. You can do that," Chizuko encouraged.

"I don't even have a dress," Edie grasped at straws.

"You know what that means," Ayako hushed solemnly.

"SHOPPING!" Chizuko and Kimiko sang while flipping over the table.

Haruhi turned toward the ruckus, "I found you guys…I guess."

"Haruhi-kun, tell Honey that we're leaving club early with Edie. We'll drive her home," Ayako charged.

Kimiko and Chizuko each took one of Edie's arms and dragged her towards the front gate. Edie looked the picture of confusion and despair.

"Should we help her?" Haruhi asked Tamaki, who had sidled up next to her.

"No, she needs this."

Haruhi was impressed to see Tamaki behaving so maturely, but the illusion was shattered quickly when he demanded that a father and daughter must hide together.

"Waaaaaaah! I'm being kidnapped," Edie wailed all the way to Ayako's limousine and throughout the entire car ride.

Ayako's chauffeur pulled the vehicle to a stop in front of a boutique.

"Relax Edie, we're here to help," Chizuko snapped her compact mirror closed after fixing her lip-gloss.

Kimiko pushed Edie unceremoniously out of the limo and into the boutique. The building was incredibly modern, all black and white abstract shapes. Two brown haired shop assistants bowed from the center of the room. They were twins, the only distinguishing feature being that one wore entirely black and the other white.

"Welcome to Hitachin Creations. How may we serve you?"

Edie balked at the synchronized greeting, but Ayako took it in stride.

"She requires a ball gown," Ayako nudged Edie forward gently.

"Yes mistress," the monochromatic twins responded.

They hustled Edie behind a heavy black velvet curtain. The black twin tugged down the zipper of Edie's uniform and pulled the dress down to her ankles while the white twin set to work removing Edie's white stockings. Edie was used to being naked in a room full of strangers. Every weigh-in before a fight she stripped down to just her underwear. But, Edie was always the one who did the stripping. Despite her protests, the handsy twins ran a tape measurer over every conceivable length and circumference of Edie's body. Eventually Edie decided the struggle wasn't worth it. Finally they bowed their way out of the dressing room. She was left alone in nothing but her underwear.

In the brief reprieve, Edie analyzed the room. A giant floor-to-ceiling brocade mirror reflected her wide eyes and six-pack. Sitting in the corner was an abstract white sofa. She was sure it couldn't possibly be comfortable to sit in because the furniture was nothing but angles and edges. She was about to test her hypothesis, when the gropey twins swept past the curtain and into the room. A rolling rack full of beautiful gowns followed them.

Black twin selected the first dress off the rack, "This will do nicely."

To call it a dress was generous. Though the silk skirt fell all the way to the floor, the bodice was nothing but leather straps, o-rings, and netting. Black twin thrust the BDSM wet dream towards Edie emphatically.

"Are you nuts? I'm not wearing that. I can't even wear a bra with that, " Edie protested.

Kimiko overheard though the velvet barrier, "Oooh, try that on."

"No way!"

"Try it on or we call Mori over here to make you," Chizuko teased.

Edie groaned inwardly and snatched her nightmare from the black twin, growling thank you through grinding teeth. White twin's assistance was required to wrap the straps in all the right places. A three-inch-wide band circled Edie's breasts, covering the nipples, but not much else. Two more straps crossed in an x over her belly button before dipping into the luxurious satin that clung to Edie's hips and thighs then tumbling softly to the floor.

"Come out here," Ayako giggled.

"Uh-uh, no way," Edie's face was whiter than a snowdrift.

"Then we're coming in."

Before Edie stop them, the Honey-Bees ducked behind the curtain. They stared openly at the tiny dominatrix before them.

"You've got boobs!" Kimiko exclaimed.

"So do you guys," Edie pointed out.

"Not like these jugs," Edie swatted Chizuko's hand before she could poke the swell of flesh spilling above and below the breast-band.

"I wear a sports bra to school, so they're squished to submission usually," Edie flushed.

"You're wearing that," Ayako rasped.

"Back up crazy lady," Edie crossed her arms self-consciously around her body.

"Are you kidding me? Even I want to ravage you in this outfit. Imagine what Mori will do," Ayako tugged Edie's arms away.

"Gross. I don't want that," Edie was reaching all new heights of embarrassment.

"Are you sure?" Chizuko winked.

"Y-yes, now get out. I'm going to try on something, anything that doesn't scream kiddie porn."

The twin attendants took turns shoving Edie in and out of dress after dress. Too sleek, too modern, too sexy, too childish, none of the gowns suited Edie's taste. She ran her fingers over the fabrics on the rack, about to give up, until a pure white dress drew her gaze. As soon as the cloth fell over her head, Edie knew she had found the one.

She replaced her yellow uniform and peeked out at her three friends, "Okay, I'll go to the dance."

The day of the dance, Honey waited impatiently outside of the guesthouse. He was miffed; yes that word was as good as any. After Tama-chan informed Honey of her shopping trip, he was happy for Edie. Then, some time passed and Honey's usual sugary outlook soured. The club wasn't as much fun when Edie wasn't there and Tama-chan kept talking about dressing Haru-chan up like a girl so Miss Kasaguzaki could reunite with her betrothed. It was all so ridiculous. Edie wasn't there, so Honey couldn't bring himself to be interested. He rode home alone. He ate afterschool cake alone. He knocked on her guesthouse door for dinner and she still wasn't home. Honey had to go to bed without seeing Edie for the rest of the day.

He brushed the sleeves of his soft yellow suit jacket. At least those three convinced Edie to come to the ball. He intended to spend at least the first three songs by her side. Those Honey-Bees had another thing coming if they thought they could steal her tonight.

"Sorry to make you wait."

Honey's throat went dry. Edie stood before him in white pumps. Her hair was slightly curled and held back from her face with a periwinkle ribbon. But, the real showstopper was the dress. Its halter-top exposed Edie's delicately sculpted arms and back. The bodice clung to the curves of her breasts, but flared out at the waist into a skirt that ended just above her knees. The white stood contrast to her dark hair and seemed to make her skin glow from within.

"You, ahem, you look incredibly beautiful," Honey managed.

"Promise?" Edie's eyes spilled over with hope. Everyone always called her cute, no one ever said, she was beautiful.

Honey leaned forward and brushed his lips ever so softly against her cheek. It took all his courage, but what wouldn't he do to make this angel his? Edie drew back and beamed. All of a sudden his chest was way too full to draw breath, so Honey slipped his hand against the small of her back and escorted her to the waiting car. Honey thought she deserved a chariot.


	7. Chapter 7

A Drizzle of Honey Chapter 7

Rustling skirts made the only sounds in the grand Ouran Ball Room. A sea of breathless women waited patiently for the most beautiful man in the room, the King, to make his royal decree.

"It is so good to see you here tonight my little lambs. The Ouran Host Club would like to bid you welcome," his white-suited royal majesty bowed low before his subjects.

A chorus of strings accompanied the lighting chandeliers and the peel of applause coming from Tamaki's devoted audience. Edie rolled her eyes at the evening's opulence. The dance floor was polished and packed with silly girls who coveted silly boys in a silly excuse for a party. Who celebrated the changing seasons with a ball? Haruhi and her six merry men overlooked the crowd of admirers from the sizeable staircase.

Kyoya opened his arms for the practical portion of the speech. As Edie expected, he reminded the ladies that he was pimping out the host club all evening. He continued, however, to another announcement that Edie hadn't seen coming.

"Based on her dancing skills, one lucky young lady will be chosen as tonight's queen. The Queen's reward will be a passionate kiss on the cheek from the King," he informed.

Tamaki bid the crowd good luck and the women in the room broke out into cheers, although the male students who haunted the fringe of the dance floor seemed less enthused. Edie thought she spied a girl stretching in the corner. Even her three friends frothed at the mouth.

"Can you imagine? The King!" Kimiko swooned.

"I bet his lips are softer than rose petals," Ayako sighed.

"Don't you guys love Honey? What do you want a kiss from Tama-chan for?" Edie was sure they'd gone mad, such devoted followers swayed so easily.

"Come one Edie, don't be so naïve. Our love for Honey is bottomless, but one does not simply turn down the opportunity to receive a kiss on the cheek from one of the most attractive boys in the whole school. Not just that, it's a passionate kiss," Chizuko fanned away the heat rising to her face.

"That too! What is so passionate about a kiss on the cheek. You do that with anyone, friends, family, little old ladies in nursing homes."

Her friends paled with concern.

"Oh no Edie. Maybe it's like that in America, but not here. A kiss on the cheek could be the start of something greater. A kiss on the cheek can be the start of a romantic encounter. It is very serious," Chizuko imparted to Edie.

She thought back to Honey's peck at the house. It was brief, nice, but honestly it only lasted a second. Honey didn't mean anything by it. He didn't even like her, not in that way at least. But what if he did? Edie recounted every second of their time together. It didn't feel like he treated her differently than any of his other guests. He was always very attentive to her, but that was just who Honey was. Still, something stirred in her base. She was wracked with panic.

Ayako and Chizuko eyed her worriedly and Kimiko was still fantasizing about Tamaki's embrace. Edie shook her head. She need to think about it and now was not the time. A smile forced its way across her face.

"Please tell me they have food her," Edie clasped her hands in front of her chest to beg.

"We have lots of yummy stuff, plus Kyo-chan just ordered some fancy tuna for Haru-chan. I bet he'd let you share," a bright voice explained.

Edie jumped nearly a mile in the air, or rather 1.6 kilometers, since she was in Japan. Somehow during her ponderous state, Honey managed to sneak up on her. She wasn't ready for this, for him. She didn't even know where they stood or if anything had even changed. Scratching her cheek Edie failed to meet Honey's gaze.

"Wow, great um… I guest I'll go find it while you dance with….Ayako. 'Kay bye," Edie pushed doe-eyed Ayako onto Honey and made a hasty retreat.

He watched her go. It was all he could do when a guest was waiting for him. Edie seemed jumpy, but Honey couldn't figure out why. She'd been fine during the car ride. Honey caught himself wishing he could quit being a Host for this evening so he could be there for her. Even so, he collected Ayako's hand. Though he was an impeccably trained dancer, he always stood on his guest's shoes. This allowed them to promenade him around the floor. It was cuter that way.

Rather than risking being found at the buffet, Edie scurried outside into the patio overlooking the starlit courtyard. She slumped her head over the railing and took deep calming breaths. At least, the breaths were supposed to be calming. Every inhale stoked her anger at herself. She acted like a spaz. Honey didn't deserve that, but Edie didn't know what else to do. She didn't think of him romantically. Who was she kidding, she didn't know what to think. Her phone rang providing her wonderful distraction.

It was a message from her oldest brother, Tyron:

Hi Edie. Conor had his big Bellator* debut. I filmed it all so you could see. Wish you were here. Fight night isn't the same without you screaming at us from the corner. Love you.

She couldn't press the triangle play button fast enough. Her brother fought out of the red corner and his competitor had an extra three inches reach on him, but she knew that wouldn't matter. Conor was a scrapper, he could take a hit, and he could win. Sure enough, in the second round, Conor spotted a moment when his opponent dropped his defense. Conor's left hook held enough power to knock the other guy out cold. The ref called the fight and Conor ran around the Octagon, glove held high. He paused to celebrate into the camera. His kissed his right glove and tapped it twice on the tattoo covering his left deltoid in curvy script. Edie couldn't help it, she burst into tears.

Conor was impulsive, therefore it didn't shock anyone when he decided to get tattoos at three AM on his 21st birthday. He emerged from the scuzzy parlor with the initials of each of his siblings on different parts of his body. From that point on, Conor dedicated each of his fights to one of his siblings by kissing the tattoo. The shoulder, that was Edie's spot.

Tears and snot dribbled down her nose. She missed everyone, her family, her Armenian striking coach, and even the gym rats that liked to poke fun at her size until she bested them in the ring. Life was less confusing in America, less lonely.

"You know, if you wanted to wear one of our mother's designs you could have just told us. She would've designed something especially for you."

Edie hastily wiped the tear tracks from her cheeks and whirled to find Hikaru and Kaoru back to back, arms crossed, and chins inclined. They eyed her head to toe. Hikaru leaned forward and poked Edie's forehead.

"You've been crying," he observed, not comforting, just observing.

"Not really, I'm really okay."

"What were you watching?" Kaoru tipped closer.

Neither boy was really trying to coddle her so Edie engaged them instead of running away or punching them. She waved her hand.

"My brother Conor just was in a fight. My family sent me a video."

"Fight?" Kaoru began.

"We want to see." Hikaru finished and snatched the phone from Edie's mitts.

Huddled around the video, the twins' eyes grew progressively with every blow. Kaoru winced when Conor delivered the decisive blow.

"So you cried because your brother lost. He'll get over it, so should you," Kaoru sniffed.

"That's not it. My brother won the fight, thank you very much," she snatched back her phone indignantly.

Hikaru and Kaoru were in agreement, "Denial."

"What? My brother was the one who…"

Hikaru cut off her angry tantrum while Kaoru patted her head in condescension, "I don't know a lot about fighting, but losing consciousness does not a champion make," he tutted.

Edie was about to burst out in fiery defense of Conor, but then she spotted the playful glimmer in their eyes. They knew perfectly well which fighter was her brother. She rubbed her temples and changed the subject.

"What were you two saying when you so rudely snuck up on me?"

The ignored the accusation and spoke in unison, "Your dress is our mother's design."

"The dress? That's impossible, I was dragged to Hitachiin Creations yesterday and…" Edie trailed off as she worked out the implications, "Your last name is Hitachiin."

"Guilty as charged," Hikaru looked pretty pleased with himself rather than guilty.

"Well that's surprising," Edie said dryly, leaning back against the railing.

"What is?" Kaoru bent down to match eyes with Edie.

"That you two troublemakers could have a mother who created something so beautiful," Edie spun to show the dress fluffing softly.

"She made us, didn't she?" was Hikaru's affronted defense.

The twins struck poses that reminded Edie of Tamaki's princely persona. Laughter bubbled from Edie's lips until tears gathered once more one her lids. She swiped them away before they could fall. Hikaru and Kaoru shared triumphant grins. Mission accomplished. The twins liked Edie. She looked pliable and puny, making her fun to play with; but she was also passionate and powerful, making it all the more fun to be caught. She was still an outsider looking in on their world, but she was the closed outsider. The twins wanted to keep her either happy or angry. Edie wasn't as much fun when she was sad.

"Why aren't you dancing?" the asked as one.

"I don't really know how," Edie looked at her feet embarrassed.

"Perfect!" the twins' toothy smiles were positively wolfish.

Edie sputtered complaints while the towering twins pushed and prodded her back into the ballroom. Hikaru spun her to face him and lifted her off the ground.

"Whoa!" she squeaked.

He waltzed her around the room for four counts of six, then winked at Edie. He tossed her high in the air. When she descended, she found herself bundled in the arms of Kaoru. Her feet never touched the ground as the twins passed her back and forth, so she began to enjoy herself. They laughed together until the final pull of the violins. She was returned to the earth, so full of laughter she could scarcely draw breath.

"Feel better?" Kaoru looked hopeful.

"Did you do all this to cheer me up?"

"No," Hikaru snorted his bashful denial, but flushed cheeks betrayed him.

The top of Edie's head barely reached the twins' waists, but that didn't stop her from cuddling them both into a group hug.

"Gross, back up tiny," Hikaru groaned playfully.

Edie shook her head in refusal, "You guys are the best."

Kaoru settled his hand protectively on the back of Edie's head, but Hikaru was unused to accepting affection from anyone other than his brother.

"We are not! We're troublemakers remember," Hikaru pulled gently against Edie's warm embrace.

She directed her icy blue eyes up towards the twins, "You can be both," she then released them and addressed the crowd of their envious fans, "Good news! Hikaru and Kaoru are giving away free hugs tonight!"

"Edie…" Kaoru growled and faced the throng of admirers with trepidation.

"I'm sure you'll find some way to pay me back," Edie smirked then weaseled her way out of there before she got caught in her own mischief.

She spun and dodged the stampeding hoard, but as she did she witness Mori kidnapping Haruhi away from a confused Kanako Kasaguzaki. The matchmaking plan that Honey warned her of must be underway. She knew none of the particulars, yet she was confident the meddling Host Club would succeed. With Tamaki's passion and Kyoya's resources, how could they not succeed?

Edie backed away from the dance floor and into someone's solid chest. She turned to apologize, but surprise stole those words. Speak of the devils. Tamaki and Kyoya rested against a pillar, surveying the crowded event.

"Tama-chan, I'm surprised you're not dancing. Your royal charm is in high demand tonight," she backed up a few steps to see the tall boys better.

"Why princess, you flatter me. In truth, I am taking a brief reprieve from my duties, so that I may devote myself fully to my flowers when I return. Though, should you wish to dance I wouldn't dare to refuse someone so precious," Tamaki lowered himself to one knee and offered his hand.

"No way buddy. I want you to rest lots 'kay?"

Tamaki's eyes welled with glistening tears and began a monologue about Edie's endless generosity. He made it through about two paragraphs before Kyoya placed a steadying hand on his best friend's shoulder.

"Tamaki, please notice that the plan is underway. Haruhi should be dressed by now, but none of the other hosts have returned. Perhaps you should fetch them before our guests get anxious."

"Yes Kyoya, you're right. If you'll excuse me," he asked Edie.

She motioned for him to be on his way, then took his place on the pillar next to Kyoya. "I will say that you have a talent for throwing parties Kyo-chan. How did you put all this together and plot to reunite two lovers?" Edie wondered.

"Let us not forget my plans I also hatched for you, Edie," Kyoya adjusted his glasses with gloved fingers.

"That's right, I'm supposed to be magically turned into a host after tonight. I'm excited to see how you plan to make it work, but I don't believe you'll succeed."

"It wouldn't do to reveal all my secrets before their proper time," Kyoya angled his head towards her to bestow an indulgent smile.

"Just a hint?"

The Host Club was spilling back into the ballroom. "Not even a hint," Kyoya summoned Mori to them, "Mori-sempai, be so kind as to dance with Miss Hale while I tend to the final festivities of the evening."

Kyoya bowed then left the two of them alone. Dang Shadow King! "Um, it's okay Mori. I can't really dance, so…"

Mori ignored Edie's quiet protestations and lifted her off the ground by her waist. He raised her much faster and higher than either Hikaru or Kaoru had and Edie needed to place her hands behind Mori's neck to steady herself. They were nose to nose when he started swaying back and forth. Edie tucked her head into his broad shoulder, so she could breathe.

Romance movies always depicted this moment the exact same. The woman grabs onto her true love and the world fades away from them. Nothing but the music and their hearts keeping time remains. Edie's heart was definitely pounding, but nothing faded. In fact she was painfully aware of every bit of her surroundings. It was as if her senses went into hyper drive. The females' dresses were too bright. The music was too loud. To be honest, the effect was more discomforting than anything. Everything about him was too big. She couldn't get comfortable.

Still, this was her chance. Maybe not to confess, but at least to talk to him. Edie summoned what little bravery she had.

"So Mori, what is your favorite subject to study?" Edie wanted to kill herself.

"Ugh."

"Um, do you have a favorite food?"

"Ugh."

Mori may speak in monosyllables like Demi, but the two were definitely not the same. Demi didn't like to talk because he was shy, as a result Edie worked with him everyday until she could understand what he meant without him having to say a word. Mori felt different. He didn't seem shy, just apathetic. He never felt that way before. Whenever he was with Honey, Mori was animated, silent, but totally animated. Now that she and Mori were alone, it was like all the life was drained from him.

Maybe Edie, just hadn't spent enough time with him. Mori probably expressed himself more subtly. She could get through to him surely she could. She'd just have to let him know, know that she cared. She cleared her throat and forced herself to pull away from his shoulder enough and look him in the eye.

"Mori, I think I like you. You seem amazing. From the first time I saw you, I felt something special and I want to know what that is," Edie was speaking too fast, but nothing could stop her, "So, what do you think?"

Mori looked at her. His face betrayed no emotions, but his eyes; his eyes dripped pity and disgust. Edie's core fell open and empty.

"Mori…" Edie tested.

He dislodged her hold around his neck and set her on the ground, "No."

"Sorry?"

But Mori merely turned and walked away. There was cold emanating off his shoulders. She could understand if he just wasn't interested, but that wasn't it. Mori looked at her with complete disdain. It was as if he was disappointed in her for something. The warm crush of people surrounding her was suddenly all too much. There was too much happiness in the room, while she was falling apart. She needed to be somewhere else, somewhere alone. The vacuous pit in her stomach was making her weak. She whirled to exit the ballroom and found herself face to face with Honey.

"Oh I um…" she looked down to hide her trembling bottom lip.

Honey grabbed her shoulders and ducked slightly to see her face, "Edie, what is it?"

"I gotta go, I'm sorry," Edie tried to run, but Honey moved in front of her.

"Fine, but I'm coming with you."

Edie's concerns from the rest of the evening melted away. Maybe it was selfish, but she needed someone. He was her best friend, the only person she could talk to in Japan. She allowed herself to be herded down a hall and into an empty and dark classroom. The tremors had stopped in Edie's hand, though she still couldn't lift her head high. Where her stomach had once been empty, guilt remained. Guilt that she had done something to make Mori hate her and guilt that, once again, she was relying on Honey.

Honey led her to the window and sat her down on the sill, "What happened?"

"I don't want to tell you," Edie mumbled into her lap.

Honey crouched before her and tilted up her chin, "Why not?"

Her eyes searched his face, looking for any clues to what he felt about her. All she could see was a concerned friend. If Honey did like her, what she was about to say could hurt him. Still, didn't he deserve to know the truth? She sighed then explained herself.

"I was dancing with Mori and…" She began.

"Aaand…" Honey prompted.

"And I told him that I might like him," Edie peeked at Honey, hoping he wouldn't be upset.

Honey wasn't upset, he was devastated. From the first moment Edie saw his cousin, Honey sort of knew what she felt. Still, sort of knowing and actually hearing it were two very different matters. He wanted to cry, to run, and to kiss her until she saw him, but that wasn't what she needed. What she needed was a friend to talk to; he was going to be that friend.

"So what happened?" Honey moved to sit next to her on the windowsill.

Edie nearly collapsed with relief, "Nothing, he just said no and walked away."

Honey didn't understand, so he waited while Edie arranged her thoughts. When she finally collected the phrasing she said, "He didn't just walk away. It was more like he gave up on me. He looked disgusted or disappointed or I don't know. I just feel like I let him down."

He understood. Mori knew all about his feelings for Edie. They were cousins, but they were so much more. Best friends was an understatement. Honey was sure the Mori was actually angry at himself for attracting Edie's attention in the first place. It wasn't like his cousin to begrudge a girl for her feelings.

"He wasn't upset with you," Honey cupped Edie's cheek.

"How do you know? You weren't there."

"He is my cousin, of course I know."

Edie leaned gently against his hand, "Promise?"

The light from the moon cast across her face and twinkled her eyes. Honey couldn't bear to look at her anymore. He bundled her into a tight hug.

"I promise."

She threw her arms around him to squeeze him tighter. Neither of them felt the need to move. They were the perfect size for each other. Edie and Honey merely breathed as one until bright colorful lights flashed in through the windows. They drew apart and saw a spectacular firework show. They watched in compatible silence.

"Did you guys fix things with Kanako Kasaguzaki?" Edie said after a while.

"There was one final step to the plan that I missed, but I'm sure it worked out. Kyo-chan planned it all. His plans always work."

"All except one. He planned to make me a Host by the end of today's ball. It's the end of the ball and here I am, not a host," Honey burst into laughter, "What?...What?"

"Kyo-chan's plan. By now he's announced to the ball that we are making you a new host. He's told the entire school," Honey managed between giggles.

"Are you serious?! Why didn't you warn me?"

"Sorry, I want you to be a host too."

"Traitor," Edie nudged Honey gently with her shoulder, "Just because he said it, doesn't make it true. I'll set things straight on Monday."

"The fact that you said that proves you are new to Japan. Here, an Ootori's word is law. You're a host now, you'll see."

Edie bumped her head against the glass pane, "I'd hate you if you weren't so amazing."

"Not even then."

"Yeah you're right, not even then," Edie sighed.

Honey studied her face. She seemed serene, not nearly as heart-broken as he expected. Maybe there was still hope. He had to believe there was still hope.

"Wanna dance?" Honey asked.

"I don't know how."

"Doesn't matter I'll help."

"There's no music," Edie pulled her forehead off the glass to look at him.

Honey gave her his brightest smile, "Good, then we can't get off beat."

She reluctantly grabbed his hand and he led her to the center of the room. He raised his arm and suddenly spun her. She nearly tripped over her own feet, but he caught her while she laughed. Her joy was so contagious that Honey couldn't help to dip her low, the ends of her hair brushing the floor. Edie stopped laughing and looked deeply into Honey's eyes. A lump gathered in her throat. That was weird. Luckily Honey dragged her upright before she could process the emotion. They swayed together, feet barely leaving the floor. Edie tucked her head into Honey's shoulder like she had with Mori; not because she couldn't breathe, but because she fit just right there. Honey held her tighter and she felt his muscular frame contract around her own. There was not much in the room. The lights were off and only a few tables and chairs were present. Even so, when Edie held Honey, when Honey held her, there was nothing else. She allowed the surroundings to fade until there was just the two of them swaying to silence.

Bellator: A mixed martial arts promotion specifically in the United States. Currently broadcast on Spike TV, this tournament was founded in 2008. It still uses the traditional weight classes for MMA, but uses a single-elimination format.

Author's note:

Hi guys! I put it at the end this time! I still wanted to thank every one of my reviewers and readers, but it started to feel obnoxious at the beginning of every story. This has been my favorite chapter to write so far because I struggled with it the most. I'm not good at the mushy stuff. I myself have never been in love, so writing about it is a challenge. Give me a fight scene any day. Anyway, let me know how I did. As always I love and am grateful for everyone who reads this story and takes the time out of their busy schedule to review. You guys are so funny and supportive. Thank you.


	8. Chapter 8

A Drizzle of Honey Chapter 8

Author's note:

Hello everyone. Yikes, last week was crazy so I could only manage to upload once. Fear not! I will make it up to you by posting thrice this week (sorry three times, I just like the word thrice...). I also put this back at the start because I worried that people wouldn't read it at the end and I want everyone to know how incredibly grateful I am to all my readers and especially my reviewers. Your support and criticisms mean the world to me. Okay I own nothing! Onto to the story.

Mori was gutted. He and Honey kneeled before each other in the Ouran Kendo Gymnasium. They were both clad in kendogi* and hakama*, their bogu* and shinai* laid by their sides. Any outsiders viewing this tense and solemn scene would suspect a battle was about to begin. The truth was much more distressing to Mori. He knew that he had to tell Honey about Edie's undesired confession. He just had no idea to go about wounding one's best friend. A trickle of guilt sweat was accumulating on the back of his neck. Gathering strength from his clenched fists in his lap, Mori opened his mouth to begin the longest sentence he intended to use for the rest of the week.

Honey interrupted before Mori could even utter a single syllable, "I know what happened last night."

Mori's stomach felt like it was trying to digest the world, "You do?" Mori winced.

"Edie told me all about it. You refused her, but I'm guessing you still feel guilty. Am I right?" Honey's eyes searched his friend's face.

Mori lowered his head in shame and to escape his cousin's insightful laser vision. Honey crawled forward on hands and knees like an infant. Mori's chest nearly collapsed with gratitude when Honey curled in his lap. A blonde head rested against his shoulder.

"I would forgive you, but I can't. You didn't do anything wrong. Nobody is to blame. We just walked right into a crappy situation," Honey was shooting comfort into Mori's heart.

Usually Mori preferred to remain passive during his cousin's displays of affection. Today though, he had to weave his fingers through the golden waves of hair. Mori didn't really like people. It wasn't that he was filled with a vehement distaste for humanity, more that nobody mattered as much as one person. He was wholly devoted to Honey. People say it was written in his genes, passed down from centuries of Morinozuka servitude to the Haninozuka empire. That wasn't true. Honey just deserved devotion. He was kind, strong, and a fantastic leader. If Mori loved him any more he would probably be _in love_ with Honey. Now, Mori's favorite person was braving heartbreak and there was little he could do.

"You okay?" the giant asked.

"I will be. Besides, it is never too late for love. I'm hopeful," Honey sighed.

They spent the rest of the lunch period training together, breathing synchronously and trading blows. Hikaru and Kaoru kidnapped Edie to eat with Haruhi today. For now all everything felt almost normal, but both boys knew that come hosting hours, complete chaos was in store.

"For the last time, I am not a member of the Host Club!" this was Edie's thirteenth tantrum of the day.

From the moment she first stepped foot on campus, boys with varying degrees of sleaze had been sidling up to her. For some reason, becoming a host was synonymous for begging to be hit on. Let it be known that it was open season for Edie and every acne-scarred male on the campus got the memo.

The particular youth before Edie was especially obnoxious. If the kid had a theme it would be slimy. He was thin as an arrow, but still managed to ooze wherever he went. The way he glomped onto Edie and refused to be removed matched the description as well.

"That's really funny baby. Look, I'm going to book you for your first appointment everyday until the end of the year. You're exactly my style," he trickled a hand down her hair and aimed for her shoulder.

Edie stepped back before he reached the target, "Go ahead and try! I'm never stepping foot in that club ever again, and do you know why?! Because I am not a member and I would rather press cacti in my eyes then entertain you!"

"Oh yeah! Score! That sweet and spicy act is gonna go over great with your guests. I dig it."

Edie's exasperated hmph could not have been more emphatic. She threw her arms to her side and stomped as far away as her feet could take her. She was going to pick one of the thousands of rooms in this ridiculous excuse for a school and hide out until Honey could take her home. No, even better, she would wait until club was over and then torture the shadow king with hot needles. She almost laughed at the thought, but was still too furious. She pulled open door after door until she finally revealed an empty classroom.

She chose a desk in the rear corner furthest away from the window. Edie wanted to do her homework and nurse her anger. Determined, differential equations were soon removed from her bag. GRRR…most kids didn't learn this stuff until college, but no, her parents put her up in a damned rich school full of frivolous fools. Every number she scrawled was paired with a nasty name for Kyoya. She worked herself into such a huff that Edie tore a whole in the paper with the tip of her pencil.

"GAH!" Edie pushed her chair from the desk and folded her arms in a snit.

Edie never ran from a fight, not once. She faced her enemies and ripped them into shreds when necessary. But were was she now? Alone in a dark classroom, hiding from sexually frustrated schoolboys and the puppet master that seemed to manipulate the entire school. It was enough to make her sick.

Flames smoldered behind her eyes as she stewed. Finally she decided. She was going to face that abominable snowman and put an end to all this. Onward she marched, not losing one inch of her righteous fury. She reached the music room door and kicked it open with a cacophonous bang.

"Ootori, we need to talk!" Edie roared.

A lonely wind rambled through the completely deserted clubroom. Where the heck was everyone? Edie deflated slightly. What a waste.

Suddenly a door at the end of the space creaked open eerily. Out of the black hole the door revealed, a cloaked figure manipulating a cat puppet partially emerged. Edie would have been afraid if she wasn't well aware that she could kick the ass of any average yahoo.

"Sorry, did I disturb you?" Edie was slightly embarrassed of her maverick kick now that some of her bluster was lost.

"The Host Club is celebrating a flower festival in the gardens. You'll find them there," the cloaked figure's voice was low and creepy, but obviously he wasn't so bad a character if he was willing to help.

"Thanks for the tip," Edie started to leave and spoke over her shoulder, "By the way, I like your cat."

"You aren't afraid of Beelzenef?" his shocked tone paused her exit.

"No way. He seems pretty cool. I guess I've always been a bit of a cat person," Edie approached the mysterious puppet-wielder.

"I sense a kindred darkness in you. My name is Umehito Nekozawa, president of the Black Magic Club," he bowed majestically.

Edie wasn't sure about the darkness, but the kindred thing sounded nice. She returned the bow, then gave her patented sunshine smile as she introduced, "I'm Edie Hale, but you can call me Edie."

Unfortunately, she was not aware that Nekozawa was petrified of sunshine. He hissed when her bright, beaming grin struck his face.

"Murder! I was wrong!" he gasped in pain and slammed the creaky door.

"Sorry?"

Edie had been in the school long enough to accept that students were often eccentric and sometimes downright weird. She shrugged off the rejection and made her way outside. Sure enough the Host Club walked among falling pink cherry blossoms. The blooms dusted the hair of both the beautiful boys and the excited guests. For some unknown reason half the club wore traditional clothing while the others were dressed like wait-staff.

Edie scanned the crowd and zeroed in on the target of her rage. Kyoya was peddling glamor shots of hosts to swooning girls about twenty feet in front of her. His crisp waiter outfit highlighted his impossibly long legs and the height they gave him. Edie was going to cut him down to size. She pushed up her sleeves and made her way towards the lizard. However, her slimy admirer from earlier oozed into her path.

"Baby, you're here. I was waiting for you. Shall we kiss under the falling flowers?" His fingers slicked back his long hair from his face as his eyebrows wagged suggestively.

Interrupting a Hale going into battle was a wise decision. A swift kick to the shin was enough to make him see the error of his ways. He doubled over in anguish while she patted his back gently.

"Oops. Sorry about that," she sparkled a smile at him to ensure he wouldn't press charges later.

She continued on her way until she reached Kyoya. "We need to talk," she spat.

Kyoya pushed up his glasses and addressed the girls he had just been pitching to, "Excuse me ladies. It appears our newest host requires my attention."

"It's fine Kyoya-sempai," they said together.

Edie put Kyoya in a subtle wristlock in order to drag him away. Her grip was tight and firm, not enough to break his wrist, but enough that she was sure he was feeling discomfort. They rounded the garden gate before she released him and seized the collar of his black servant vest. She yanked him downward till he was near bent in half and at her eye-level.

"I don't like people who play dirty, Ootori," she growled.

Kyoya smoothly removed her fingers from his clothing and stood grinning and unruffled. "No 'Kyo-chan' today? Oh goodie, I'm glad we're finally getting serious."

"You rat! You lied to the whole school, lied about me, and you aren't even a little ashamed."

"I said you were a host and now everyone believes me. People are already requesting your company and your school pictures are selling like wildfire on the Host Club website. Should I be ashamed of turning a profit? The only one who doesn't believe you're a host is you. Why do you still fight your fate?"

"Have you had a total break from reality? You can't force me to be something I'm not. You can't sell my photos without my permission and you certainly cannot make money off of selling my company."

"And yet I am making buckets of cash off you."

Edie punched him in the gut. She didn't put in her full strength for fear of exploding his liver, but he still contracted his torso and heaved and huffed. It wasn't until his coughing died down that Edie made her point.

"I am no escort and I will not let you pimp me out to every sicko who wants female attention," he was close enough that she barely had to speak above a threatening whisper.

"I will not rescind what I said," Kyoya glowered.

"And I will not be a host, so be prepared to become a known liar."

She turned and walked coolly away. She passed by the gate of the gardens and Hikaru and Kaoru called out to her.

"Edie! We have a present for you. A hosting uniform for your first day!" Kaoru waved a skimpy maid outfit in the air.

"Not today guys," Edie waved a edgy goodbye.

"What's up with her?" Hikaru asked his brother.

Kaoru shook his head, "Should we go after her?"

Tamaki overheard and placed a hand on each of the twins' shoulders. "Let me go," he offered then ran off to follow Edie.

His long strides allowed him to catch up to her quickly. He darted around her and began to walk backwards in front of her. "What's up, beloved daughter of mine?"

Edie tried her best not to roll her eyes. "No offense Tama-chan, but I really don't want to talk from anyone from the host club right now."

"Ah, I see," Tamaki rubbed his chin knowingly continuing his backwards stride, "You are upset about Kyoya's announcement."

"He is so, so… insufferable," Edie stopped her marching forward when Tamaki almost tripped over a garden hedge.

"Wow big words," he teased.

Tamaki gestured towards a bench and they sat next to each other, studying a fountain depicting a urinating boy. "Shut up," Edie said gently.

"I have a feeling no one has asked this, but why are you so against being a host?" Tamaki studied her face, but Edie continued to stare at the water feature.

"This school is ridiculous. The exuberance of the architecture," she gestured towards the fountain, "the difficulty of the curriculum, and above all the shallow student body are just unbelievable and not in a good way."

"That doesn't answer my question," Tamaki observed.

"It sort of does. The only reason why you or anyone in this school wants me to be a host is because of the way I look. I'm small and cute. Not proud of it, I just am. I'm nothing more than a sideshow for this school that is obsessed with keeping up appearances," Edie looked down at her lap and kicked up some of the loose gravel under the bench.

"That's not true," Tamaki said.

Edie finally looked at him. "It is though! Everyone is putting up a façade here, even me. They just look at the surface level. I have fought my entire life to get people to see that I am more than what I look like. It is the toughest battle I've ever fought, so I'm not about to join a club that will undermine me."

Tamaki saw the hurt in her eyes. He understood better than most what it meant to fight expectations. Being the bastard child of the Suoh family ensured that. He made the Host Club to escape from that struggle. Edie was searching his face for understanding, but Tamaki was a master host, so his face betrayed none of his feelings. She sighed dejectedly and slumped backwards against the bench.

"I never wanted you to be a host because you were cute. There are plenty of cute girls in this school and none of them were asked to join. I didn't want you because you were small either, you are, but that doesn't matter," Edie rolled her eyes while he continued, "I wanted you to be a host because you're smart. People are drawn to you and you know how to handle it. Edie, you can make people happy, boys and girls. That's all that hosting is."

"Maybe you want that, but the rest of the school won't see it like that. They'll see me as just another cute toy of the Host Club to coo and coddle," Edie blushed slightly at his compliments.

"They don't have to. Being a host means you can be anyone you want. If you don't want to be a toy then become the kind of host that no one would toy with. You're clever you can figure it out."

Tamaki's earnest gaze was a little overwhelming for Edie, so she looked at the fountain once more while she gathered her thoughts. "You're not nearly as clueless as you pretend to be," she finally said.

"Clueless? My dear Edie, Daddy has no idea what you could be talking about," Tamaki winked.

She couldn't help, but to giggle as she nudged him with her shoulder. "I think Haruhi would like this side of you, Tama-chan. The intelligent and capable Host Club president. I'll be rooting for you guys."

Edie had noticed Tamaki's adoration for the cross-dressing girl since almost the first day she met the host club. It was Tamaki's turn to blush.

"You should join the Host Club," a mumble was all he could manage with his current level of embarrassment.

Edie pondered some more in the comfortable silence that followed. Joining the Host Club would mean she could spend more time with Honey, Hikaru, and Kaoru. She would love that, but it also meant she would see Mori more often. After the ball, she expected that seeing him again in class today would be more painful, yet it felt more like awkward than anguish. She could deal with awkward. It would probably fade with time. Maybe she could even get used to the fawning guests. At least they would come with cake.

Perhaps becoming a host might even be fun if it weren't for one very important thing. She would have to let Kyoya win. Apologizing for brash behavior was one thing, but this time she had the moral high ground. She wasn't about to let that go to waste.

She was pulled from her pondering when Tamaki rose to his feet and brushed his hair back from his face. "Well, duty calls," His violet eyes sparkled from the sun beams reflecting off the water.

"Back to your sea of adoring fans, you must go," Edie rose two.

"Think about what I said," Tamaki ruffled Edie's hair and eased his way back to the cherry tree garden.

She watched his retreating form be eclipsed by pink petals. It was true, he did give her a lot to think about.

Glossary:

Kendogi: This is the gi that covers the upper body of kendoka (people who practice kendo)

Hakama: The loose pleated pants worn by kendoka

Bogu: The armor used in kendo

Shinai: The sword used in kendo


	9. Chapter 9

A Drizzle of Honey Chapter 9

Author's note:

Back so soon! I wanted to thank all of you who reviewed yesterday. I love all your comments and often they make me laugh out loud. If you have time, let me know how I'm doing or if you have any tips. Thanks guys! I own nothing.

Later that evening, Honey was paying Edie a visit in the guesthouse. She sat on the floor, leaning against the bed and curling her knees up to her chin. He sat above her on the bed, running his fingers through her hair. This had become a nightly habit ever since she first had dinner at the main house. That night Honey escorted her home and finger-combed her locks that were so much darker than his own while they chatted about their days or dreams or whatever else came to mind. Honey would sometimes get entranced by the sound of her dark hair gliding against his fair skin.

"So then what happened?" Edie scooted backwards so her spine could lie flat against the bed.

Honey could imagine the interested twinkle in her eyes. "Tama-chan declared that we were the homosexual supporting cast in the story of his romance with Haru-chan."

Edie laughed so hard she snorted. He loved her laugh. Most people only got to hear her sparkling titter she used in public, however, when they were alone, she had a deep belly laugh that could shake a room. The first time he heard it he pledged to make her laugh that way at least once a day.

"I imagine the twins just loved that. Oh I wish I could have seen their faces," Edie was practically gasping and her shoulders still shook with every chuckle.

"They devised a plan to get back at him," Honey grinned.

"Of course they did. Tell me, please tell me."

"Well we needed to find a way to hide Haru-chan's gender during the physical exams, so they convinced Tama-chan to wear a wig and pretend to be her."

"No one is going to believe that. Poor Tama-chan. Shouldn't someone warn him?" Edie had warmed to the silly prince after their talk.

"He did call me homosexual supporting cast. I don't mind the gay thing, but I _am_ the main character," Honey took a playful pouty tone.

"Fair enough. I'm assuming Kyo-chan has a back-up plan," Edie tried her best not to grimace at his name.

Honey could detect some of her bitterness. "He's an Ootori. Of course he does," Honey began to French braid her hair, a skill she taught him two weeks ago.

His nimble fingers made short work of the job despite the large amount of hair she possessed. Edie nearly purred at the soft tugging sensation on her scalp. "You guys get into the craziest adventures," she sighed.

Honey tied the hair elastic she supplied at the end, then sat back to admire his handiwork. "If you join the Host Club, you could be a part of them," he teased.

She rose from the floor and stretched tall, the hem of her t-shirt revealing a small band of skin. "Tama-chan actually talked to me about that today."

"And?" Honey prompted, crossing his legs and leaning back on his hands.

Edie hopped up on the bed next to him. "And maybe I actually wouldn't hate being a host. At least not as much as I feared."

Honey perked, "Does that mean you want to join after all?"

"So Kyo-chan could have his way? I don't think so!" She stuck her tongue out in disgust.

He lied back on the bed, trying to appear causal by crossing his arms behind his head. "He's not so bad. Kyo-chan is one of my best friends. He may seem calculating and cold, but he is loyal to those he cares about. You guys are actually pretty similar."

"You've got to be kidding me," Edie said aghast.

"Seriously. You both are smart, powerful, and good at reading people."

"No way-."

"—And you're both stubborn," Honey arched an eyebrow to make his point.

Edie opened her mouth in defense, but snapped it shut again when she knew he was right. "Maybe. Still, can you imagine his face if I just said I was going to join after all my resistance? He would lord it over me 'til the day I die."

"Isn't there an American idiom for this? Something like, 'don't cut off your nose to spite your face'?"

Edie followed his example and lowered herself until they lay together side by side. "My head knows that you're giving me good advice, but my pride is refusing to let me listen."

Honey chuckled and put out his arm so Edie could use it as a pillow. She inched closer until she was snuggled nicely into his side. "If you want to save face then join the club, but do it on your own terms."

"Like what?"

He patted her back. "You'll think of something."

The day of the physical exams was finally upon them. Edie walked the hallways with her classmates to the examination area. She listened to Chizuko fret about her weight. Apparently measurements like height and weight were made in full view of everyone. Only the psychological review and body inspections were made in private.

"I've gained two kilos this year. I'm sure of it," Chizuko said around the fingernails she was chewing frantically.

"Even if that's true, I'm sure you got taller too," Kimiko comforted.

Unfortunately, Kimiko had a waspish figure, so the huskier Chizuko took little reassurance. Edie patted her panicked pal sympathetically on the back. She understood weight insecurities. The world of MMA was filled with eating disorders and body dysmorphia. Fans of the sport may not see, but the pressure to make weight snapped many hopeful fighters.

"I think you are beautiful Chizu-chan. Don't worry," Edie smiled her support.

She wished Honey was there to chime in, but he and Mori were excused early due to the Host Club's activities. Edie had not yet acquiesced to becoming a host, so she stayed behind. Although, she did happen to spy a white lab coat in his bag. Things with Mori were less tense than she imagined they could be. She ate lunch with him and Honey and though they never spoke, Mori wasn't much of a conversationalist anyway. He still avoided any eye contact with her, but the chill she felt from him the night of the ball was gone.

The herd of third-years finally stopped in front of the double doors of the examination area. Faculty had claimed one of ballrooms for the doctors. The doors swung open and once again, Edie was stunned at the lengths this school went for the comfort of its students. Rows of pretty nurses in pristine white dresses lined the aisle where students were ushered down. White linen curtains sequestered off several examination areas, but first the students were lined up before a series of scales.

Chizuko's forehead was beginning to dampen while her eyes darted nervously around the room. Ayako squeezed Chizuko's now clammy hand in solidarity. One by one, boys and girls alike stepped up to be weighed until it was finally Chizuko's turn. Dread resided in her eyes, but she raised her chin and solemnly stepped on the square platform.

"Sixty-four kilograms," announced the nurse.

Chizuko's face lit. "Really? That means I lost weight," she squealed then turned to raise a victorious fist to Edie and the other Bees.

They applauded and cheered. It was now Edie's turn. It wasn't her first time having her height and weight exposed to a room of strangers. She'd been to dozens of fight weigh-ins. She barely even noticed when her nurse reported her weight. She was too busy trying to spot Honey in the crowd.

Sure enough, she spotted him off in the section where the first-years were being weighed. He and Mori were disguised as doctors in white lab-coats. Perhaps Mori could have pulled off the role, but Honey resembled a child dressing up in his father's clothing. He wasn't fooling anyone, but the girls swooning next to him didn't seem to mind.

She managed to make eye contact with Honey and was rewarded with a thumbs-up. Peeking to make sure the coast was clear of meddling teachers, she snuck over to him. However, she was halted halfway there by the sight of the twins, topless and embracing each other. She had to admit they were well built. Even so, she snuck up beside them and smacked each of them in the belly, leaving a five-fingered red mark emblazoned across their flawless six-packs.

"Ow!" They yelped.

"That's what you get for being exhibitionists," she laughed and flounced away before either the twins or their admirers could retaliate.

She sidled up next to Honey, cool as a cucumber. "Looking sharp Doctor," She said.

"Why thank you," Honey straightened his lapel comically.

"Seriously, what are you wearing?" Edie asked incredulously.

"Kyo-chan likes to advertise the club at large student gatherings. Cosplay is always a big hit with the ladies."

"Always on duty."

"You should be too. I though you were going to join the club by now," Honey gave a reprimanding look.

"I made no such promises," was her prim response, "and you told me I should join on my own terms. I haven't decided what those are yet."

Edie, Honey, and Mori watched with interest while Haruhi entered an examination room. The curtain closed behind her. Girls practically frothed at the mouth. This was their chance to see the body of the newest host. Several moments later, the curtains parted revealing a semi-nude Tamaki in a brown wig. The second the female audience began to murmur their confusion, Tamaki realized his fatal mistake. He trusted the twins. He attempted to throttle the tricksters, but soon the waves of disappointment radiating off of Haruhi gave him pause. Tamaki reduced to a weepy mess over the angered object of his unrequited love.

Edie and Honey bore witness and shook their heads in pit. "Poor Tama-chan," Honey lamented.

"He is foolish sometimes, but I'm still rooting for him," Edie shrugged.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Tama-chan is an adventurous guy and Haru-chan is grounded. They'd be good for each other if Haru-chan could just recognize his merit.

"I agree," Mori rumbled.

She was drawn aback, but smiled. Those where the first words Mori said to her since the disastrous confession. His low voice no longer set her heart a-flutter, but it still warmed her to know that she might not have burned the bridge to friendship.

"Miss Hale?" a nurse with a pleasant face interrupted, "The doctor will now see you for your personal exam. Please follow me."

"I'll be off then. Stay out of trouble boys," Edie saluted them then hopped away after the nurse.

Honey watched every step of her departure until she disappeared into the throng of people. He climbed atop Mori's shoulders and directed a forward march. "Come on buddy, we need to get checked out too," Honey said.

A raucous scream stopped the gentle giant in his tracks. Huddled in the corner was a trembling girl pale as snow. Mori carried them both to her side. Hikaru and Kaoru followed. Honey dismounted and cradled the frightened second-year's hand. "What's wrong?" he asked.

The girl gulped huge panicked breaths as she spoke. "I was waiting for my personal check-up when an imposter dressed as a doctor entered the tent," she paused to sob, "He tried to touch me. I screamed and he ran away. I was so scared."

Hikaru and Kaoru supported the girl on either side and assisted her to stand. "Which way did he go?" Kaoru soothed.

The girl's shaky finger raised and pointed in the exact same direction the nurse led Edie. Warning bells clanged in Honey's ears. He took off in a sprint before anyone could react. Frantically, he searched, asking everyone he saw where Edie was. At long last he found the nurse who took her away. Baffled, she directed him to the last exam station at the end of the road. He didn't even stop to thank her. He ran as quickly as he could to the white curtain.

Eek!

Honey's heart iced over when he heard her shriek.

A few minutes earlier and inside her exam room, Edie's nurse handed her a crinkly paper gown. "Please remove your clothes and put this on. Your underwear can stay on, but we'll need you to remove your bra. The doctor will be with you shortly," the nurse bowed her way out of the room.

Edie set to work. The dress was soon pulled over her head and folded into a neat pile, followed by her lilac sports bra, and lemon yellow flats. She then began to remove her white stockings, but tripped over the exam table. "Eek!" she shrieked and fell into a painful heap on the floor.

Much to her dismay, the white partition separating her from the outside world swept open. Her legs were bent in an uncomfortable "w" position, but luckily her back was facing the opening. She whipped her head to look at the intruder and was dismayed to see Honey, concerned and frantic. His eyes searched the room then lowered slowly to see her crumpled on the floor.

Even though she faced away he could still see the naked curve of her spine as it disappeared into ruffled white panties. His face boiled and for some reason loud carnival music was screaming on loop in his skull.

She wrapped her arms around her breasts and yelped, "Get out!"

She was shrill enough to disrupt his daze. He separated them once more with the curtain. He stammered ardent apologies through the linen. "God Edie, I'm so sorry! It w-wasn't what it looked like. Crap, crap, CRAP!"

Edie was too busy pulling her clothing back on and fuming to pay attention to his words of apology. Only when her dress rested on her frame did she start listening. She pulled open the curtain ferociously to find Honey cowering in a bow on the ground. He looked pitiful, but she was mad so she didn't bother to tell him to rise.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to see, not that I saw anything…not that there was anything to see…I mean you have things to see, but… God I didn't mean it…Crap!" he rambled too worried about her hatred to make sense.

She cut him off, but her eyes still contained a burning wrath. "You have exactly three seconds to tell me why you lost your mind and acted like a complete pervert."

"A girl was attacked by a man and he ran this way, so I wanted to make sure you were okay, but I heard you scream and burst in. I'm sorry," Honey spoke breathlessly from his groveling position.

She understood and was even grateful. He tried to save her, but he had also seen her naked. This was a sin not easily forgotten. She outstretched her arms, inviting Honey into a hug. " I forgive you, and thanks for at least trying to save me."

Tears of gratitude welled in his eyes. He sprang up into Edie's arms, but as soon as he connected she planted her heels and threw him over her left hip, back onto the ground. He lay flat on his back, dazed and confused. She offered him a hand to help him stand. "Now we're even," she grinned playfully, "Let's catch us a pervert."

Honey accepted the offered hand, a little embarrassed to be caught off guard. He rubbed his bruised shoulder. "Nice throw. You probably could have taken care of yourself, couldn't you?"

"I totally could've, but it's nice to know that I wouldn't have to. For real, thanks," she grabbed his hand and ran them both back to the main reception area.

The twins, Mori, Tamaki, and Kyoya conferred together a huddle. Tamaki spotted them first. He broke off from the group and swept Edie off the ground into a relieved cuddle.

"My goodness, are you alright? I nearly fainted when Mori told me," Tamaki gasped.

"I'm okay Tama-chan. Honey came to get me. I didn't even run into the guy," she giggled and patted his shoulder until he put her down.

Ever the pragmatist, Kyoya checked, "So the imposter is still at large?"

Honey nodded solemnly. Hikaru and Kaoru positioned themselves like protective sentries around Edie. It was ridiculous considering that she wasn't actually under any threat, but Edie was touched by the gesture. "This school has pretty tight security. I'm sure they'll handle it," she assured.

Before she could even finish her sentence, yet another girl screamed. The Host Club and Edie booked their way over to the disturbed youth. The victim held her hands trembling to her breast. Tamaki switched on his prince persona in an instant.

"Are you alright princess?" he cupped her shoulder.

This was the closest the girl had ever been to the prince. His violet eyes overwhelmed her, so she had to blink the stars out of her eyes before she could manage human speech.

"I'm fine. Just shaken I suppose. Some pervert doctor approached me, started talking crazy, and then ran away after I screamed," she gushed.

"Which way?" Kyoya and Edie spoke over each other.

They glared at one another. At least until the girl said, "The special private men's examination ward."

There was a beat of silence while everyone realized the implications. Tamaki never dropped his character faster. "Haruhi," he whispered, dropped the girl, and took off running.

It didn't take long for the other's to follow suit. They weaved through the hall until the male ward appeared. Tamaki burst in the room first. He took one look at Haruhi and the disheveled man, then acted. "Tama-KICK!" he yelled.

Edie had to admit she was impressed with his form and from the way Haruhi was gazing up at Tamaki, she was pretty impressed as well. Way to go Tamaki! Once the Host Club arrived, matters solved themselves rather quickly. As it turned out, the doctor was just looking for his estranged daughter, who actually attended Ouran's public high school, not the private school. Tamaki assisted in reuniting the family in his usual benevolent, if not meddlesome fashion.

Once the ordeal was complete, Edie accompanied the host club back to their music room. Kyoya decided to postpone club activities in an uncharacteristic show of courtesy.

Haruhi and Edie sat together on one of the couches discussing the events of the day. "Were you frightened?" Edie wondered.

"Not really. Confused definitely, but that guy wasn't even intimidating," Haruhi poured them some tea.

Edie collected her portion and curled around the warmth, "Well you certainly are brave. Two other girls ran into him and they were terrified."

"The girls in this school aren't the most rational, present company excluded of course," she crossed her legs.

"You can say that again. Still you have to admit Tama-chan was seriously cool back there," Edie eyed her junior around the rim of her teacup to measure her reaction.

Haruhi's expression grew wistful. "I guess you're right. I didn't know Sempai had it in him."

"You should tell him. After all, he almost saved you from a pervert. He was so worried, but didn't hesitate to come to your aid. It was the first time I saw him as a real prince," Edie hoped her nudging would plant a seed of romance in her dense friend.

"Maybe I should…" Haruhi pondered.

"Now…" Edie suggested.

Haruhi smiled and took off to find her hero. Edie sipped the jasmine tea as a reward for her matchmaking effort. Satisfaction bloomed in her belly, at least until Kyoya claimed the seat that Haruhi had just evicted.

"A little birdy told me you have reconsidered my offer to become a host," Kyoya said.

Edie returned her cup to its saucer with a clatter. _Dang that Honey!_ He was the only one she told. She could almost feel the smug energy oozing from Kyoya's pores, but she was always a bit pessimistic when it came to him.

"First off, you can't call it an offer when you practically coerce me to comply. Second, I haven't actually decided, so…"

"Please Edie, you're better than this charade. The club needs you, the members like you, and our guests are thrilled with your addition. Don't you think we should bury our bad blood?"

Edie settled her fist on her hip and raised her eyebrows. "Like you wouldn't say anything to improve the financial status of the club."

"Of course I would. There is nothing I wouldn't do or say to get you to join. Tamaki has gotten quite attached to you. He texts me every hour on the hour to ask me if you've joined yet. My life will be utter hell until you back down."

Inspiration struck. Honey told her to join on her own terms and Tamaki suggested she become someone who couldn't be toyed with. Well she just found her terms. "You'll do anything?" she checked.

"As I just said," Kyoya had little patience for repeating himself.

"Mr. Ootori, prepare to eat your words!"

"Valued guests of the Host Club, gather round to watch our newest host in action. Please welcome, Edie Hale!" Honey announced.

The ring of guests around the floor mat burst into eager applause. Edie skipped out onto the mat, wearing a fitted exercise top and leggings. She waved at the crowd. "Hi everybody! I'm so excited to spend time you all you pretty ladies," she stole a trick out of Honey's hosting guide and willed little pink flowers to bloom around her head.

The crowd ooed and awed while the applause continued to grow. She raised her hand to silence them. With any luck, her face showed only serious earnestness, but she was too excited to tell. "It was really scary during the physical exams for us girls, right? There was an intruder and some poor souls were harassed."

Her eyes searched the group and apparently she was doing fine because everyone clung to each syllable she said. Several of the guests nodded along solemnly. She continued, "The Host Club cares so much for every single one of you and we don't want anyone to be afraid ever again. So…" she paused for dramatic effect, "Kyo-chan has agreed to assist me to teach you all some self defense."

The room burst into applause once more and Kyoya hobbled out of the prep room and into the ring. His glasses were off and he was covered head to toe in padding. The guests were all moved that the icy vice president would care enough to sacrifice his body for their sake. Hikaru and Kaoru couldn't help but snicker in their corner, ignoring the murderous glares Kyoya shot them.

"Isn't he amazing ladies?" more nods and swooning from the audience, "Good! First, we will learn how to punch. In dangerous situations the best thing to do is scream and run away, but if for any reason that isn't possible, you should know how to punch without harming yourself."

Edie showed them how to curl in their fingers and wrap the thumb over top to make a fist. She had the rest of the hosts, excluding Kyoya, go around and examine form. Many girls hyperventilated when Tamaki grasped their hand to make corrections. Soon everyone in the crowd knew how to make a fist.

"Great job," Edie smiled, "Now let's punch. The force for a punch comes from your mass and the acceleration of you movements. Sadly, girls don't have a lot of mass, but we more than make up for it with our acceleration. Strike fast as fast as you can."

Edie punched the air, her arms so fast that those watching almost missed it. "Put your whole body behind the punch. Gather power from the ground, your legs, waist, and arms. When you punch someone in the tummy, don't aim for the belly, aim for the spine. Watch me," she continued.

Kyoya reluctantly provided her with sparring gloves. Once she was strapped in, he clenched every fiber in his abdomen. He still felt her blow like a bullet to his stomach. He wanted to growl at Edie for being so rough, but the loud applause from the peanut gallery calmed him. Her eyes sparkled with glee and he reminded himself that one of her hairpins was sold for 370,000 yen on the only auction.

"Okay friends, it's your turn. Line up," Edie announced and passed the gloves to the first one up.

The guest was a mousey and quiet first-year. "I-I couldn't possibly hit Kyoya-sempai," she bit her knuckle bashfully.

Edie grabbed her hand, "It's okay. Kyo-chan wants you to hit him. He told me he would take a million punches if it meant his beloved guests could be safe. Isn't that right Kyo-chan?" she almost giggled.

"Quite right Edie," Kyoya said, because what else could he do?

Despite being mousey, the first-year could still pack a punch. None of the blows hurt as badly as Edie's, thank goodness. Edie watched for a while to make sure all was progressing smoothly, then took a step back to hang with Tamaki before the next lesson. He passed her a water bottle and gave her a respectful nod.

"Congratulations, you've officially become a host no one would toy with," he observed.

"I'm glad I took your advice. Thank you."

"So is your feud with Kyoya over?"

Edie considered this as she drank from the bottle. "I think so. Now that we're working together things should get calmer. Who knows, we may even become friends."

"I hope so," Tamaki smiled.

So did Edie. Being mad all the time was exhausting. It would be nice if their arranged truce could last.

"Edie come quick!" Hikaru called her over to the prep room, frantically.

"What's up?" she asked while she ran over.

"Kaoru needs help opening a jar of commoner's coffee."

Edie eyed him incredulously. Goodness these hosts were drama queens. She passed the water bottle to Hikaru. "Is that all?" she swung open the door to the prep room.

Before she knew it, she was shoved inside and the lock clicked behind her. She looked up wildly to find two twin girls. Wait, they were the white and black twins from the Hitachiin boutique. They advanced ominously, then pounced. One pinned down her legs while the other removed Edie's top.

"Wait a second-," she began.

Before she could finish, the short maid outfit Hikaru had waved at her during the flower festival was pulled over her head. Her leggings were removed and then the girls threw her active wear out the open window. Edie raced forward to try to catch them, but managed only to watch them flutter down three floors and land on the ground. Edie stalked to the door and knocked.

"What am I wearing?" she rumbled.

"You missed cosplay day," Kaoru chirped on the other side.

"I'm in the middle of a self defense seminar!" she fluffed up her black skirt and was relieved to find black shorts underneath.

"It's important for the guests to learn that no matter what you are wearing it is still possible to defend yourself," Hikaru laughed through the wood.

"Fine, let me out of here."

"Are you going to punch up if we let you out?" Kaoru asked.

"Not today, but watch your backs," she threatened.

Hikaru and Kaoru squealed and ran away after switching the lock. She shook her head and regarded the female twins sarcastically, "Nice to see you again."

Wordlessly, they bowed low. Edie mustered her last shred of self-respect and exited the prep room. "Enough punching. We're gonna move on," she announced while she approached the mat, ignoring the cooing guests.

Kyoya was relieved when Edie called for a rest. He was starting to sweat a little. Then he spotted her, dressed up in a frilly maid outfit. She looked like jailbait. They stared at each other. He was puffed up like a marshmallow with all his sparring pads and she was an X-rated nursery rhyme. Neither of them had ever looked more ridiculous. Their only option was to burst into empathetic laughter. It was a kind of forced camaraderie, but it was real. For the first time since their meeting, the shadow king and the icy fighter were seeing eye to eye.


	10. Chapter 10

A Drizzle of Honey Chapter 10

Author's Note:

Wow guy's, I can't believe how blessed I am that you all are reading my geek explosions. Seriously, you guys are the best. Your reviews make me laugh and squee so please keep them coming. I read every single one and love them! If you guys have any tips or critiques I'd love to hear them too.

Somewhere in a lush bedroom overlooking the Eiffel Tower, a young heiress was falling in love with a television screen. Or rather, she was falling in love with the video game character on the screen. Despite the fact she was still only fifteen years old and had never touched her dream boy, she was certain no love ran deeper or stronger.

"Wow, you are so kind. I love that about you," her suitor said.

His phrasing was normal enough, but the measure of his speech was clipped. His voice was deep and resonant, yet it had a metallic edge to it. The heiress ignored all that to sigh and try her best to get lost in animated, unseeing eyes. She pressed "a" on her video game controller and her suitor invited her to have a picnic.

This was her kind of love. The game allowed her to pick and choose from a bevy of handsome partners. God did those Japanese animators know how to design an attractive man. She always chose the withdrawn bookish character, complete with the glasses. Those boys always had the best plot lines. At first he'd be stand offish to everyone, but she would see the warmth held within. He'd take care of a forgotten garden or nurse a sick bird back to health. She liked being able to be the only one who truly understood him, but above all, she loved the control. Every happy ending was decided by her.

The boy in her game was obviously a fiction, a placeholder until she found her real tenderhearted bookworm. But soon, she wouldn't require the data-driven facsimile any longer. Her father had found the real thing and soon he would be hers. She supposed she would have to be his as well, but being possessed by someone as kind and gentle as Kyoya Ootori couldn't be all bad.

Tossing aside the controller in favor of a small photo, she stared deep into the bespectacled eyes of her real, definitely real beloved. "Soon Kyoya-sama. We'll be together soon," Renge Houshakuji thought to the unmoving boy in the picture.

She laid down then rolled on her side to regard her Parisian view. Every day of her youth had been spent waiting for Kyoya Ootori. Surely he was waiting for her too.

Three days later and 9,706 kilometers away, Kyoya was definitely too busy to be waiting for anyone. He was currently entertaining ten guests at once, trying to figure out how to afford seven full suits of armor, and suffering Edie trying to pull his cheeks into a pinched smile. She was tugging either side of his face and stretching the skin taut. Kyoya imagined this is what salt-water taffy felt like before it was wrapped for consumption. He finally faked a smile convincing enough to make her release. "See girls? Doesn't he look handsome with a smile?" Edie said triumphantly.

"He's always handsome," said Mai Watanabe, second year and youngest daughter of a wealthy car-manufacturing magnate.

He couldn't help it. Statistics like that were always coursing though his head. It was his business to know everyone's business, but he followed his guests with extra scrutiny. Recent events had added a lot off new faces to keep track of.

Since the birth of the Host Club, Kyoya's face made him popular, but his icy nature kept too many of his fans from requesting his time. But after their joint self-defense seminar, Edie became his "lovely item" to use Tamaki's crude wording. Similar to how Honey softened Mori's burly persona, Edie warmed up Kyoya's atmosphere. The consequence of this was more people requesting his time, leaving lest time for him to manage, well, everything.

Whenever Edie had a break from her male guests, Tamaki ushered her over to Kyoya's table. Her constant teasing and infantile behavior made him more… _approachable_. Kyoya was beginning to hate the descriptor.

The club's finances were getting a little out of hand. He no longer had the time to put new items on the online auctions or to organize new merchandise. Luckily the twins' mother donated today's uniforms. All the club members were outfitted in kimonos that she designed. In exchange for free advertising, they were able to use the garments for the day. However, their other costumes, food, and décor was all paid for directly out of the Host Club's pockets. Tamaki was a genius at many things, but especially visualizing impossibly expensive new directions for the club. Kyoya refused to use school funding to ease the weight of the expenses. It was a matter of pride.

He angled his head towards Miss Watanabe in appreciation. "Your compliment does me great honor," he said.

She tittered delicately behind her hand, flattered at his regard. Edie was performing like a circus clown, so he took the opportunity to survey the room. The twins were doing their usual routine, talking about undressing one another. They ran the gambit enough that it should be stale, but judging by the squealing that wasn't the case. Tamaki was working the room with his usual aptitude, but there was Haruhi, standing wide-eyed in a corner. For being coined the "natural type" she sure couldn't take initiative. She was booked for another appointment and yet she stood, doe-eyed and receiving compliments on her kimono from some eager guests. At moments like this, Kyoya liked to remind the reluctant host of the debt she still owed. He surreptitiously slipped to her side and did just that. He was rewarded with her look of dread and watched her trot off to her next appointment with renewed vigor.

The look Edie gave him when he returned told him she disapproved of his tricks. Though, they were in front of guest so he was spared one of her lectures. They got along a little better now they spent more time together. Even so, they still managed to butt heads on some issues. His treatment of Haruhi was high on their list of contentions.

One of his aforementioned guests claimed his attention. "Kyoya-sempai, have you made any new photo collections?" asked Sadashi Moto, first year and eldest daughter of a well-to-due restaurateur.

The familiar throbbing in the back of his neck returned. He felt it when he was reminded of his shortcomings. "I'm afraid not quite yet Miss Moto," he replied.

His face revealed none of his tension, but Edie considered herself a master at reading body language. Kyoya was tenser than the drawstring of a catapult and ready to snap. She subtly massaged his neck, somehow soothing the exact place the pulsations plagued him. She eased him up out of his chair.

"Sorry ladies. I have to steal Kyoya for a bit," her voice dropped from its usual lyrical chirp to a conspiratorial whisper. "I'm gonna try to get him to buy us cookies. I may have to get tough, real tough."

She pounded her fist into her hand menacingly, but her face was so goofy that the girls had to laugh. Kyoya found himself being pushed towards a window under the cover of their laugher.

"That was incredibly unprofessional. Thank you, but do not do it again," he said once they were out of earshot.

"Alright Mr. Shadow King, what is going on?" Edie sassed.

He wasn't accustomed to complaining to others, not even to Tamaki. It was against his survivalist instinct to reveal weakness. He quirked his eyebrows to warn her not to get too cute, but remained silent.

She wanted to roll her eyes, but knew it wouldn't help. Men and their pride. At times like this, it was easier to forget her own hubris rather than dwell on the hypocrisy. She sat into one hip. "Something is obviously bugging up your bonnet," she gave him a chance to explain, but his infuriating silence continued. "Fine! Do want me to guess or should we play charades?"

"You're such a child," Kyoya scoffed.

"Really? I'm the child. Seems to me that you're the one whose language skills regressed to that of a baby. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine, but don't just turn into a mime," she grumped.

She turned on her heel and mumbled to herself as she walked away. Kyoya could only catch bits and pieces. "Stubborn, no good… silent treatment using… I try to help…every time…why did I rhyme!..."

Kyoya started to laugh at her inner monologue becoming outer. She may not have a high opinion of him. But she did entertain him. She was always teetering on the edge of chaos. An American Jekyll and Hyde, she was either sunny and fluff or lethal and monstrous. For some reason he always seemed to push her towards the latter.

He called her back to make amends. "Edie, come," she petulantly returned to his side. "I could use a sounding board."

The thunderclouds swirling her hair abated immediately. The sun had returned. He decided to begin talking quick before another mood swing. "The new photo books, I have nothing. Just a bunch of amateur hidden camera shots," he confessed.

"Isn't that all the older books had?" she asked

"Oh so you've read them," Kyoya teased her.

She had to admit snuck a peek at one of Ayako's copies of Honey and Mori's November issue. It was morbid curiosity that drove her to snoop, but she had to admit that one of the pictures did strike a chord with her. Honey was caught mid-bite of his favorite strawberry cake. The photographer did a horrible job, so a solar flare eclipsed most of the photo. Still the way the light danced in Honey's corn yellow highlights mesmerized her.

She would never admit that to anyone though. He was her cute buddy, her best friend. Still recently she had grown fascinated with the wiry muscles in his forearms and the warmth that penetrated her core when they talked. She wasn't about to start drooling after him like she had Mori. Looking back at her previous boy-crazy behavior made her ashamed. She was determined to never act that way again.

"That is neither here nor there," she got prissy when she was embarrassed. "Anyway, the sale of merchandize is what keeps us afloat. What is your plan? How are we making money?"

She was smart. Kyoya had to give her that. "We're not, or at least not enough. Tamaki is cooking up crazy ideas every week and I don't have time to figure our next big move."

"You could say no," Edie thought for a minute and saw how ridiculous her statement was. No one could say no to Tamaki; he was persistent. "Okay no you can't. Still, I know for a fact that you have sold all my hairpins, pencils, and lip-glosses for the auction. I'm sure you get plenty from that," she pointed out.

"You under estimate Tamaki's ability to spend."

She thought back to the very first day she saw the club, the tropical rain forest complete with Balinese flowers. He was right. The club was probably bleeding money over the copious amounts of gourmet food and beverage, not including the costumes and décor. If it weren't for Kyoya, the club would be bankrupt in a day.

"Looks like I need to buy more hairpins," she said more to herself than to him.

Kyoya almost laughed. It was more like an extra powerful exhalation, but Edie took it. She was about to offer he delegate some responsibilities to her and the other hosts wen she spied a new face peeking in the entrance of the music room.

The girl's long, light-brown hair was tied half up half down. The two sides of her center-parted bangs framed sizeable brown eyes. She was a foreigner like Edie, but she didn't look American.

Apparently the twins spotted her too because they walked in close to the girl and pushed crimson roses below her nose.

"Come on in," Kaoru leered.

"It's no fun to just watch," Hikaru urged.

It appeared the seductive Hitachiin twins intimidated the new girl. Tamaki, who was never one to leave a distressed damsel, took control of the situation.

"Enough! I thought I told you to be more courteous to our first-time guests," he reprimanded. His voice softened before regarding the stranger. "Are you alright, my princess?" he let the question linger seductively.

"Ph…" she began.

"Ph…" Tamaki prompted.

"Phony!" she shrieked and pushed Tamaki away from her.

Her declaration drove through his heart like and arrow. He actually writhed in pain. One thing was certain, the new girl was no longer meek. While Tamaki reeled backwards she advanced. "I can't believe someone like you is the prince figure in this host club. You shouldn't be spreading your love around so easily. You must be a dim-witted narcissist. You're incompetent and common, the worst!" she ranted shrilly.

By this time, the whole Host Club was gathered to watch the spectacle. None were particularly enthused with the stranger berating their president, but Edie was especially seething. Despite being over-the-top about everything, Tamaki was a good person and a good host. He didn't deserve being bullied.

She took a menacing step forward only to feel Honey's restraining grip on her shoulder. Her eyes screamed at him, but his body language told her to simmer. His face never changed from childish awe. Edie trusted him so she somehow managed to extinguish her anger.

Tamaki ultimately collapsed onto the floor under the weight of the criticisms. Kyoya pondered the foreigner. She bore a strong resemblance to one of his father's clients. He had just met the man two weeks prior. He attempted to test his theory. "I don't suppose you're-," he began.

Tears burst out of the stranger's eyes when she caught sight of Kyoya. She ran to him passionately and collapsed against his side. "It's you! Kyoya-sama! Oh how I've longed to meet you, my prince charming," she cried as she embraced him.

Kyoya kept his face passive throughout that exchange, but inwardly the cogs in his brain were whirring. "Perhaps we better have tea," he said evenly.

The host club gathered together directly across from the couch where the stranger sat. She introduced herself, "My name is Renge Houshakuji, and I'm transferring into first year class A tomorrow. I flew here from France to be closer to my fiancé, Kyoya-sama."

"Fiancé," Hikaru and Kaoru repeated.

Despair clung to Tamaki. His best friend didn't even tell him he was engaged. Honey and Edie took turns patting Tamaki's back in a vain attempt to comfort him. "Don't worry. Mommy didn't mean to keep a secret from Daddy," Edie soothed, knowing the nicknames both raised Tamaki's spirits and frustrated Kyoya.

"Whatever. Why does everyone insist on calling me Mommy?" Kyoya huffed.

Renge didn't understand what was happening and despised feeling left out so she took control of the conversation. "Ours is a story of love at first sight. I couldn't resist the way you admired those flowers in the courtyard or how you nursed that ill kitty."

Flowers? Ill kitty? The Kyoya the Host Club knew would never waste time on any of those things. If there was no benefit for him, he did nothing. Everyone was baffled, but Haruhi spoke first, "Could you have the wrong person?"

Renge rounded on her ferociously. "No way! I would recognize my love anywhere," she spat, then faced Kyoya with a dreamy gaze. "He's a gentleman who's kind to all, but asks nothing of others. He's solitary, but get's lonely sometimes. He looks like the star of the popular dating sim, Uki-Doki Memorial! You're my real life Ichijo Miyabe!"

The twins were still thrown trying to reconcile the Kyoya they knew and the man Renge was describing, but something clicked for Tamaki. He revived enough to accuse, "Otaku!"

Hikaru and Kaoru drew back in shock. Kyoya finally broke his silence. "Now I understand. You fell in love with that character and now you're projecting that love onto me. You deluded yourself into thinking we're engaged. I assume I resemble that character. He probably wears glasses too," he pushed his own spectacles further up his nose.

"So you're not engaged?" Tamaki asked hopefully.

"Well no, I don't remember asking for her hand. I've never seen her before today," Kyoya said.

Renge was still busy fantasizing her future marital bliss in store for her and Kyoya. The rest of the club wanted to ram their heads against the wall. Renge returned to the present and plopped herself down on the seat next to Kyoya. "As I understand you administrate everything in this club," she said.

"Yep. Kyo-chan is our director," Honey chimed in.

"A director? Perfect. I've decided. From now on I'm going to be the Host Club manager!"

"No," Edie protested under her breath.

Even Honey looked nervous. Renge was loud, bossy, and brash. She might even be too much for the Host Club.

Tamaki crept behind Kyoya to implore him to do something. Kyoya cut him off before he could even get three words out.

"Miss Houshakuji is the daughter of a valued Ootori client, so please be polite and try not of offend her during her stay."

He gave Edie a pointed look, so she gave him her most innocent "who me?" pose. Honey laughed at her. Renge calmed down enough to tilt her head and regard her new underlings. "I'm so excited to work with you all," she chirped.

The host club did their best to agree, but decided to end the club period early so they wouldn't have to watch Renge bat her eyes at Kyoya any more. Honey and Edie were relieved to go home at last.

The next day the club held a meeting before Renge arrived. In all truth, Kyoya didn't care for the French girl. She was unpredictable and delusional. But, her father was as wealthy as she was batty. Kyoya could smell a financial opportunity from a mile away. He was sure he could get the Daddy's girl to use her father's resources for the club. Even if she was a dud as a manager, he could not turn down the extra income. Miss Houshakuji could be the solution to all his problems.

Much to Kyoya's surprise, Tamaki began the meeting by voicing his support for Renge. "If you think about it. Having a female in the club could trigger Haruhi's femininity to bloom," Tamaki explained.

Luckily, Haruhi was compiling her grocery list in her head, so she wasn't paying attention. Edie, however, was. "What am I a man? You said the same thing when you wanted me to join." She griped.

"I'll admit I had hopes, but I see now you don't spend enough time with her. Renge will be in the same class as Haruhi. So far my beloved daughter has had no one but these shady twins to keep her company during class."

The shady twins did not appreciate the censure and were about to retort when Renge entered through the door. "Hey everyone! Guess what? Your new manager baked some cookies for her first day," she sang.

Tamaki took advantage of the opportunity and sprung to Renge's side. "My what feminine kindness. You are most generous."

"They're not for you, phony prince," Renge's voice almost dropped an octave when she spoke to Tamaki. The venom in her tone changed to sugar when she approached Kyoya. "I'm sorry I burnt some, but I already know what you'll say. 'Anything you make is going to be delicious, of course.'"

Honey and Edie took advantage of Renge's daydream to snatch the cookies from her hands. They were cookie bandits! Honey nibbled some first, but Mori swatted the burnt confection out of his hand. "Don't eat that Mitskuni, it's bad for you!" Mori warned.

This incurred Renge's wrath and she chased the cousins around the room. During the commotion Edie snuck a bite from her cookie. They were awfully burnt. If Kyoya ate any there was no way he would compliment Renge. She started to cough around the charred crumbs in her mouth and Hikaru and Kaoru fought to decide who would do the Heimlich maneuver on her while Haruhi tried desperately to keep them from squeezing Edie to death.

Tamaki was once again huddled in his corner of despair. When Haruhi finally convinced the twins to put Edie down, she selected one of the less burnt cookies to sample. She did so as a show of good faith to the new manager. Edie mimed for Haruhi to stop, but the commoner was foolhardy and stuck the cookie between her lips. It was disgusting, but considering her track record with Kyoya she needed someone in management to like her. "They're not so bad, the flavors are good," Haruhi managed.

She couldn't seem to swallow the cookie so she let it hang from her lips. Hikaru spotted the boss in the corner and decided a little prank could rouse his spirits. "Let me try Haruhi," he said and bit the end of the cookie that was in her mouth.

Thanks to twin telepathy, Kaoru saw the game. "Here Haruhi let me get that for you," he said while licking crumbs from her cheek.

Tamaki went from zero to sixty in no time flat. He rushed to Haruhi's side outraged. She was already telling the twins more appropriate ways to clean friends and eat cookies, but he wasn't satisfied. "Haruhi, your reaction is all wrong!" he grabbed her face between his hands. "You have to stay strong and reject them."

"This is sexual harassment sempai," Haruhi pointed out.

"Sexual harassment!" Tamaki cried.

The twins and Tamaki nearly brawled over who was sexually harassing Haruhi while Edie fought to separate them. Her small frame was squashed between the towering combatants. Kyoya and Haruhi merely watched with disdain. Meanwhile, Renge had lost enough steam that she stopped chasing Mori and Honey. Honey approached her tentatively with a mug of milk. It was a peace offering and a fine one at that. He even was letting her use the Usa-chan mug.

"You want some Renge-chan? It's milk," he sparkled up at her.

"Luke warm," she replied softly.

Honey was confused. Did she want him to warm the milk. He was about to ask when Renge yelled, "LUKE WARM! Every single one of you. Except for Kyoya-sama, all of you are too plain. You need a dark side! People will get bored and leave. Are you trying to ruin my fiancé's club?"

She went down the line attacking characters. To Honey she recommended, "You're the baby-faced thug!"

Honey yelped at the thought. She turned to Mori, "You're his child-hood friend flunky!"

Mori didn't care about most people, but he actively detested Renge. Next were the twins, "You two are basketball players shut in your own world."

Hikaru and Kaoru hated the sport. Haruhi was named an honor student who struggled with bullying. This was close enough to the truth so even though she was puzzled, Haruhi thought she could play the role. Then Tamaki was picked apart, "You're the school idol who is beloved for his looks, but you actually have an inferiority complex, the Lonely Prince."

Tamaki actually enjoyed the thought of a new challenge. The chance for a new role. He already began to immerse himself in his character. Renge rounded to the last person, Edie. In all honesty, Edie was so small that Renge hadn't even noticed her. "What the hell are you?" Renge sniffed.

"I just work here," Edie replied.

"A girl in an all male host club, I don't think so!"

The irony wasn't lost on Edie that the female manager of the host club took issue with having a female host. Tamaki sensed Edie's self control slipping so he stepped in. "Actually Edie has a very important role here. She entertains male guests, but she also acts as a foil for Kyoya's character, a lovely item if you will."

Renge wouldn't. The idea that her perfect betrothed need a fluffy pipsqueak like Edie was foreign to her. It also meant that the little harlot would be spending a lot of time with Kyoya. Renge wasn't one for competition. She had declared herself manager and she was going to manage. "You idiot. Kyoya-sama doesn't need a lovely item, he is the lovely item," Kyoya wanted to cringe at the thought of being lovely, but allowed Renge to continue. "From now on you will no longer team up with Kyoya-sama. Stick with your male guests. Boys are easy. Just flash your panties and everything will be fine."

Everyone in the room, but was offended by that except Tamaki, but Tamaki hadn't heard because he was practicing lonely poses. Renge was on a roll and didn't notice she was losing her audience. They turned to Kyoya and begged him to put a stop to this nonsense. "It seems the boss is up for it. Let's just wait and see how things turn out. I bet it will be interesting. But Edie, you are forbidden to panty flash any of the guests," Kyoya remarked.

"You don't have to tell me that!" Edie practically shouted.

A wave of inspiration washed over Renge. "I know what you need to advertise your new characters. A movie!" she cried.

"I'm afraid we don't have room in the budget for a film Miss Houshakuji," Kyoya gently pointed out.

Renge dismissed it with the wave of her hand. "Oh Kyoya-sama, I'll get my daddy to pay for it all. I would do anything for someone as thoughtful as you."

"I'm honored," the cha-ching of a cash register clanged in his head.

Oh how Kyoya loved exploiting others for profit.


End file.
